


Rise of the Star Queen: HIATUS

by baisexual_unicorn



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - World of Warcraft Fusion, Angst, Anxiety, Asphyxiation, Badass, Bathing/Washing, Beds, Birthday, Biting, Blood, Bodily Fluids, Bonding, Bottoming, Chatting and messaging, Clothing, Consent, Crushes, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing and Singing, Death, Deviates From Canon, Diablo - Freeform, Enemies, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Fantasy, Feelings, Feels, Female Characters, Fiction, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gore, Harry Potter - Freeform, Hatred, Hearthstone - Freeform, Heroes of the Storm - Freeform, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Injury, Language, League of Legends - Freeform, Love, Making Out, Manipulation, Marriage, Mythical Beings and Creatures, Non-Consensual, Not Suitable/Safe For Work, Orgasm, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Overwatch - Freeform, Pain, Panic, Penises, Pining, Plot, Porn, Possessive Behavior, Posted Elsewhere, Protectiveness, Rape, Relationship(s), Reunions, Romance, Roughness, Royalty, Secrets, Sexual Content, Sexual Themes, Smut, Tension, Topping, Torture, Unrequited, Violence, Weather, World of Warcraft - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:48:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 37,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23743303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baisexual_unicorn/pseuds/baisexual_unicorn
Summary: As the battle rages for Azeroth, a neutral queen is landed with news that could bring her island to ruin, possibly ending her reign and her kingdom. She has a plan, and there's people she needs to find, but it proves to be a difficult challenge. But, as luck would have it, she comes across just the person she's looking for. Her plans change, and she hopes she is wise enough - and strong enough - to defend her people from death and devastation. Posts weekly on Fridays, whatever time I feel like it, EST.
Kudos: 8
Collections: World of Warcraft Library





	1. Queen of the Fae

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters depicting violence, non/con, etc. will be properly tagged in the beginning notes.

_The moon shines brightest on the nights that I hunt._

_Prettiest at full, reflected at the riverfront._

_I stalk, soundless, beyond the forest’s end._

_Watching, waiting, as the children begin to descend._

_Treading into the water, they clasp hands and form a ring._

_And before they can utter their rhymes, I sigh and begin to sing._

_“Children gather near_

_For I’ve a tale to tell ‘bout the water here_

_Upon the waves at night she’ll rise_

_And sing you a song, so sweet against the star-spilled skies_

_And your souls she will gather_

_Then pull you under, rather_

_Than let your feet arrive_

_Safe at the morning’s tide.”_

*************

The ivory moon shone across Llian’s face, the shadows of the tree leaves dancing across her pale features. She stood motionless, hidden just beyond the edge of the woods. The tree line sat just across a small village of humans, separated by a shallow river that cut deep into the ground. Nothing was happening, and all was quiet except for the rustling of the branches in the wind.

One of her red priestesses stood beside her, hood up and eyes down. She kept her hands in front of her, fingertips just barely touching, silent as her lady master. She didn’t dare make a sound, out of fear of the wrath of her queen.

It didn’t take long for the sound of young children to reach Llian’s ear drums. Pointed ears perked up at the laughter, lilac eye searching for its source. And soon it came around the corner of one of the houses across the river: five youngsters of about eight or nine (in human years) running about the field, holding hands and knocking one another over playfully. One ended up rolling down the hill onto the riverbank.

 _Yes_ , thought the fairy, _come closer to your demise._

The excitement grew within the pale predator as she watched and listened. The one on the bank began to beckon his friends, and they hastily followed, mirroring the method the first had taken to reach the bank. Now they were at the river. One boy pushed one of the girls into the water. She got upset and began to yell and cry. Another girl jumped in to comfort her companion by splashing water onto the three boys. Then they jumped in after them.

The game continued for some time, but Llian didn’t mind. She never minded a wait for a delicious meal. There were times when the prey was so dim that they were within her grasp in minutes. Sometimes she would have to wait hours, stalk for days even before she got what she wanted. But every wait was always worth the effort she had to put in.

The children’s voices were getting louder. Soon the boys were chasing the girls across the river to the other side, closing in on the forest. One boy began to climb the hill opposite of where they came from, and Llian saw that it was the boy who had pushed his friend into the water. What a brat. He wouldn’t taste as nice as the others. He was tainted by his upbringing. The fairy guessed that he could do as he pleased and whenever he made a mistake or hurt someone else, the problem was brushed off as “that’s what boys do”. Despicable. But, even if he tasted horrible, Llian knew she would be doing the town a favor.

The group was almost to the forest edge. They were so close that Llian could smell the essence that they put out. It was almost time, and she could begin to taste it.

One of the girls passed by the boy. She pushed him aside and darted towards the tree line, right in Llian’s path. The little girl stopped and stared into the darkness of the woods. She didn’t see the being that hid from her view. The pale fairy waited for just a moment longer, staring into the young eyes that stared back without even knowing it. Then the other four arrived.

And that’s when she began to sing.

Four tiny figures stopped dead in their tracks. Eight feet went still. Forty fingers slackened and fell. All eyes fell on the direction of the voice. They stood and listened as the song continued, and not much long after they were treading towards the forest line to the voice. Once they reached the trees, they stopped. Eyes wide in a trance, the children stood in a line, shoulder to shoulder, without so much as a whisper passing over their lips. Llian continued her lullaby, up until the very end, when their small eyes fluttered closed and they all collapsed onto the ground, so deep asleep that when the fairy approached them and motioned for them to rise, they did not awaken. Five young bodies rose from the grass, lined up before the fairy to view. Their naked toes hovered less than a centimeter above the ground and their heads lazily hung to the sides. The next motion was across their faces, one at a time, to pull the wisps of light that was the soul out of their soft lips, and finally she would consume it. Five children, five souls. A wonderful, hearty meal in the eyes of this creature.

Llian let the bodies of the children collapse on the ground in a dead heap. She wrung her hands together, as if harvesting souls had caused her great pain that needed to be massaged out. The bodies at her feet gained none of her attention, and they wouldn’t gain anyone’s attention until the early hour of the morning.

“Roza, we’re leaving. Now.”

The priestess in red stepped into the open, revealed by the moonlight, taking no extra time to summon a portal back to the palace. She waited for her queen to pass through it, then followed with haste before it snapped out of existence, leaving behind nothing but five dead children.


	2. The Betrayer, Missing

Five souls could keep Llian satiated for weeks on end. Five souls belonging to children kept her going for months. And these months had proven to be very trying. Scouts had reported seeing many different ships off the coast of their peaceful island, all bearing either blue or red flags. Llian knew what this meant. She had been secretly watching the downfall of the world around her, observing as the two largest forces fought for ownership over it. And she knew that it wouldn’t be much longer before her small kingdom was caught in the middle of it. She suspected that others of her race had already taken sides in this war, but she still saw no reason to get involved.

Until certain news reached her court.

It was a typical night in the life of this queen, sitting in her throne room, listening to the latest from whoever it was she was listening to. Today, it was the scouts and spies. Four individuals stood before her: two fae and two night elves, and when the time came for the elves to speak, they had a report that brought Llian to the edge of her seat.

“My lady, we have heard news that the demon hunter, Illidan, has gone missing.”

If the room could have gotten more silent, it was then. The only one who dared break that silence was the queen.

“Illidan?”

The elves exchanged looks. “Yes, my lady.”

More silence followed.

“Stormrage?”

Another look exchanged.

“Y-yes, my lady.”

Llian sat back into her chair in thought. “And how old is this news?”

The elf swallowed before he spoke again. “This is recent. Within the past week.”

 _A week?_ “A week? Where did you get this information from?”

“Malfurion.”

Now the court was anything but silent. Malfurion Stormrage. Illidan’s brother, a night elf druid, first of his kind and practically their messiah. And for these two to be reporting such sensitive information to her from such a high source put her a little on edge.

“When was he last seen?”

“Malfurion reported that his brother had been left behind on Argus, after the battle with Sargeras. To ensure he never escaped.”

Confusion crossed the queen’s pale face. “So…he’s not missing?”

The other night elf spoke up. “Malfurion reported that he had recently sent a select few champions to visit Argus, but when they returned to him, they said that Illidan was not there.”

“What did they say of Sargeras?”

“Sargeras wasn’t there, either.”

The court burst into talk, all of it so loud and muddled that one thought couldn’t be separated from the rest.

“Enough!” Llian shouted, her voice reverberating off the walls and silencing the room immediately. “The court is dismissed.”

All but the priestesses and the royal guards left the hall, leaving Llian with her thoughts of this “news”. Everyone stood silent as they waited for what their queen would say next.

“Clearly he couldn’t keep Sargeras under control. Yet another failed mission by this poor beast. What say you, Lilli?”

The priestess in white that stood directly to the left of the throne spoke up without turning her head. “The Betrayer has once again been unable to deliver a promise he has made. And now, as Azeroth crumbles beneath itself, he has unleashed a force that will likely destroy it. And despite all of this, he is missing.”

“He is dead,” snapped the other white priestess standing right of the throne.

“They did not find his body there-,” argued Lilli.

Llian did not want to hear this particular squabble. “Stop it!” Both fae fell silent immediately. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. “Bring in the generals.”

Next to enter the room some thirty minutes later were Llian’s four generals, a quartet of three men and one woman who commanded her magical forces. Adorning the Siren’s Sigil upon their armor – a blue lily with a silver skull nestled at the center of the petals - they had all been very carefully selected by the queen herself, based on what merit and proper leadership skills she saw they had over the years. She trusted them in all military matters and would always consult them before making decisions.

The four walked up to the throne and knelt before Llian.

“Rise.”

They stood up and stood at attention, eagerly waiting for the queen to speak.

“I have just been made aware that the Betrayer himself has gone missing.”

The generals did not speak.

“I have also been told that Sergares has also gone missing.”

Still quiet, as opposed to the court when this news first came to light. Which was how Llian liked it.

“General Trills?”

The fairy farthest to Llian’s left perked up. He was a slender being, with deep blue skin and short, snowy white hair. He still looked very young, maybe 18 or 19 to a human, and his bright green eyes were eager with the same youth. He was always ready and alert.

“We should locate the Betrayer, my queen. If we find him, we can keep him as our prisoner and use him to figure out a way to best defend our home.”

No one spoke as Llian pondered this. She nodded with understanding and addressed the next fairy.

“General Strands?”

This was the woman. She was about the same build as the queen herself, with the same dark blue skin and white hair as Trills, except her hair cascaded in waves down to her naval. Her face was covered in shining white freckles, twisting and swirling in intricate patterns across her body, which appeared only as faint, milky spots during the day. Her bright green eyes looked up at her queen before speaking.

“I agree with Trills, if not only for the fact that we need to find the Betrayer before someone else does. We wouldn’t want the Alliance _or_ the Horde getting him first. That would most definitely disrupt our peaceful way of life.”

Two for finding Illidan, both for very good reasons. She thought some more then asked her next general, General Ives. He was a bit stockier than the other fae generals, with muscles more toned than them and a clear strength in his stature. Ives was much older and scruffier than his male counterparts, with pale skin and dark green hair. He was the one in their ranks that passed as human, which had proven to be helpful on more than one occasion in the past.

“We need to focus our efforts on protecting our home from the impending doom that will surely be Sergares,” he told the queen. “We can’t trust the Betrayer! He was unable to win any of the battles he took part of. He won’t be able t help protect us from this monster when he comes.”

“ _If_ he comes,” interjected Lily.

“No, _when_. Sargeras will come. It’s only a matter of time. And we need to be as ready as we can be for when that time comes. If we use the Betrayer, he will surely lead us to our demise!”

The queen didn’t respond, only moved on to the next: General Droves. He was the shortest of the fae generals, but not by much. His skin was black as pitch and had not a single follicle of hair upon his body. He was nearly impossible to see at night, making him the stealthiest fairy in the kingdom. He trained the queen’s spies, as well as taught the troops the skills needed to be able to fight at night. Which was very useful on this island, considering the fact that it only experienced one day with sun a month.

“I have to agree with General Ives. We need to be as prepared as possible. And surely either the Horde or the Alliance will come upon us at some point. We should also be ready for that, in case we have to make the horrible decision of taking a side.”

That left them all at a stalemate. Which rarely ever happened with these four. Usually they could agree at the very least on what to do in these trying times. If not, it was a three to one agreement. The only times the generals couldn’t agree on what to do were when it came to the safety and well-being of the entire island, an island that had been peaceful and, for the most part, untested for thousands of years. It had the occasional problem with intruders, but those problems were easily taken care of. Only once or twice has the island been contested in its lifetime, with the turnout being in favor of the fae.

But even if they were at a stalemate, it was all the queen needed. For she had already formulated a plan of action.

“We will prepare the island for the defensive, so that we are ultimately ready for the day that Sergares comes.”

“But your majesty-,” Trills began to argue.

“AND,” Llian interrupted, “in the meantime, I will spend my own personal resources to search for Illidan.” This did not sit well with the last two generals. “You never know. He may be able to provide us with some helpful information. And if not, we will at the very least be ready to fight for our home.”

The room fell silent once more. This plan appeased all sides taken here, with no expense of the effort to protect the island. Searching for Illidan Stormrage was an easy task that her lower ranking priestesses could carry out. He couldn’t have gotten far.

Llian dismissed the generals, leaving herself, once again, with the guards and her fourteen priestesses. She sat in thought for a few moments longer before addressing her lower court.

“Briane and Jess.” The two priestesses in lilac, kneeling at the far end of the group across from each other, stood and faced their queen. “Ciel and Meer.” The two priestesses in blue, kneeling the same as the purple but about three feet closer to the queen, stood and mimicked their predecessors. “The four of you are being tasked with finding the Betrayer, Illidan Stormrage. You will capture him and bring him back to me. And may no one find out about this.”

The four priestesses bowed before Llian and responded in unison, “Yes, my queen,” before turning and filing out of the court. The rest stayed behind until Llian dismissed them. The white priestesses stayed behind, as they always did, being the closest confidents of the queen. They followed Llian when she got up from her throne and walked out of the room. A door to her right accessed a hall that led to the back of the palace, where the queen’s chambers were hidden away. The white priestesses opened the wooden, double arched doors for Llian, allowing her to enter one of her most private of sanctuaries. The other was the room where she bathed, which was hidden away separately deep within the palace.

The royal bedroom was a sight to behold. The palace was built into the side of the island’s largest mountain peak, Mount Tempest, with the queen’s chamber windows facing in the direction of the ocean. But since the palace was hidden from view by thick jungle, the only view Llian had was of the wildlife beyond, which proved to be more magical and breathtaking than any beach view. The room itself was large, with tall a tall arching ceiling with a naturally lit chandelier hanging from the center. Beneath the chandelier, in the middle of the room, was the queen’s bed: king sized with a veil hanging lazily over it. The veil was sheer and translucent, the only view of the bed being where the fabric parted. Otherwise it was just a shadow beyond. The sheets were made of the finest fabrics the fae could produce, woven with magical threading to ensure the best comfort. The seamstresses that created this masterpiece made the color a dark blue, almost black, to imitate the night sky. The bed was placed within a circular area that was about a foot into the floor, leaving enough space for one to step down from any side into the shallow pit to access the bed.

There were other furnishings in the room as well, such as a lounging chair and sofa, which were placed in front of a fireplace directly to the right of the bed. The chair and sofa surrounded a short table, which was where the queen’s hookah and other assorted smoking pipes were. To the left of the bed was what would usually be a wall, but instead was the one large window that looked out into the jungle. In front of the window was a small table and three chairs. The queen often sat here when eating (because she did like to occasionally enjoy a solid delicacy) and attending to her royal duties. Aside from the furniture in the room, there were several paintings, statues, and plants that decorated the floors and walls.

The only other occupant of the queen’s room, besides her white priestesses and her handmaidens, was her cat, Cerellion. He was a fluffy orange cat with the grace of a handsome king, as well as the attitude of a vain one. He was pretty and he knew it.

Cerellion mewed at the queen when she entered, immediately garnering her attention. She fell onto her bed and gathered him into her arms, kissing his sift face and showering him with affirmation. The white priestesses dismissed themselves and allowed the handmaidens to do their work in peace.

“I don’t know what to do, Cerellion,” Llian complained to her cat, who was desperately trying to free himself from her grasp. “Should I really be putting my personal efforts into finding this madman? Or am I just wasting my time?” Cerellion didn’t have an answer, only another crazed mew. Llian gave up and let him go, situating herself to rest her head on a pillow. “What if he’s dead?”

The queen pondered the decisions of her generals while her handmaidens helped her ready herself for bed. It was hard for Llian to find sleep, what with her thoughts muddled the way they were.

But she finally did give in to sleep, unknowing that her solution was not far off on her future.


	3. An Unexpected Find

The sun had already risen this month, so when Llian awoke, it was to the sounds of the night fauna: chirping, croaking, and buzzing. Her room was illuminated by the moon – in its waning phases – and the bioluminescence of the flora outside. The queen rose from her bed and stretched, looking out into the wilderness as her morning meal was brought in to her. Pastries and juice made with local fruits adorned her plate, and she didn’t wait a second to dig in. Next to her food and drink was her itinerary for the day. Looking at the first item did not please Llian. At all.

  1. _Alliance ships have been seen anchored off the coast in the south. They have set up camp on the beach. They do not seem to plan on moving into the forest; only to stop and rest._



This wasn’t the first time outsiders had stopped at the island to rest. Most usually ventured into the outer forest a bit to collect supplies. But they never made it to the jungle and they always left within a few days. But this was different. This was the first time a crew from the Alliance or the Horde had beached on the island. She looked down at the page again. By the sounds of it, the crew wasn’t a threat, and the number of ships anchored wasn’t specified, so Llian assumed they were no harm. But she still summoned her two green priestesses and two fae spies to investigate the matter.

The rest of the itinerary involved further meetings with the generals and updates from the scouts. There was a pretty hefty break between these meetings and the meetings she was to have with the heads of the noble families, which she intended to use wisely.

It was time for another hunt.

Llian did feel very tired when she woke up, exhausted and groggy from the lack of energy she had. It had been almost to months since she last fed, and she had gone passed the point of peckish. The tired feeling followed her and hung over her while she ate and read, signaling that she would have to feed soon, or risk falling into a long slumber until she could recover. The queen immediately called for her advisor and demand that the meetings be moved around. To _after_ she had fed.

“Right away, my queen,” her advisor promised before hastily making his exit. While she sat and finished her breakfast, Llian thought of where her next hunting grounds would be.

Thinking back to the itinerary, the first item gave her the answer she needed. The southern beach. She would hunt the Alliance sailors anchored there. There would be enough souls to surely sate her for a while. She took a little more time to relax, then stood and prepared to leave. When it came to reaping the souls of adults, Llian had a routine that was slightly different. _Especially_ when concerning adult men. She picked a gown that brought out the features and curves of her figure, one that became quite “see-through” when she took a dip into the water. Finally adorning herself with gold upon her head, neck, arms, and ankles, she was ready to set out for her hunt.

And this time, she went alone.

She did not need guards or priestesses for local hunts. She didn’t need to be protected, and she didn’t need a portal to another land. She just needed her direwolf and her song.

The queen’s direwolf was stabled outside of the palace, at the base of the mountain. It was a hairless canine with six legs, four front legs and two hind legs. The fangs were sharp and always dripping with saliva, and were so immensely dirty that a bite from the beast would poison the victim, slowly killing it. The direwolf barked and snarled when Llian entered the stable, and she happily obliged to pet and scratch his head before mounting. He was a very well-behaved and loyal direwolf, never afraid to go where the queen directed him and never afraid to let her know when he thought a path was dangerous. And he fought like the beast he was. He had saved the queen’s life on multiple rides, from many a different animal and humanoid alike. And now he was taking her on another hunt, something he was always happy to do.

Llian rode out of the kingdom and through the jungle, until she had reached the line where it became a forest. The trees changed dramatically from big and tropical to small and less dense, and it only took a few minutes for her to see the beach. And sure enough, there were two Alliance ships docked out in the shallows. Several tents and fires dotted the beach, and there seemed to be a bit more people than she had anticipated. It was just beyond the tree line where Llian dismounted, with enough woods to keep her well hidden from the intruders.

The pale fairy slithered through the trees and brush to the very edge, observing the behaviors of the sailors in order to find the right time to go in. She was also looking at what she was up against. Thankfully, all of these sailors were human, and the makeup was majority male. The easiest targets in Azeroth were male humans. Their minds were so weak and feeble. But they never tasted as good.

She flanked the beach from the trees to see if she could find a smaller group more suited for hunting. At the very far right was a small group, tucked away under the trees and far enough away from the rest of the crew that Llian wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else being caught in the trap. This small group was made up of only four sailors, all drunk and happily sharing their olden tales of seafaring around a blazing campfire. After listening for a few hours, Llian learned that this group was the rowdiest, and therefore had been ostracized away from the others so as to not cause a foolish scene.

Some gruelingly moments later, Llian found her moment to strike, and she began her song.

This one had to be different than the song she sang to children. Children’s minds were so easy to ensnare. Adult minds were not the same, even when incapacitated at a level like this. So she chose a song in the language of the fae, to make it immensely harder for the sailors to resist her call.

At first, they didn’t hear her. But a few seconds in, the one closest to the fairy stopped talking and urged his comrades to do the same. They all stopped to listen, quickly entranced by the song of the siren. All four of them stood up and slowly walked towards the voice, none of them any wiser than the next of what was about to transpire.

Just like with the children, the men stopped before Llian’s hiding spot in a line, shoulder to shoulder, waiting for her to emerge. She stepped out into the moonlight, further ensnaring them with her beauty. And just as she was about to reap the soul of the first sailor…

His gaze shifted.

Something behind Llian caught his eye, and he immediately snapped out of his stupor. His blue eyes grew wide with horror at the sight of the being behind Llian, and he quickly turned to flee. His screams of terror interrupted the spell cast upon the others, prompting them to follow in the footsteps of the first. Leaving Llian with a major problem.

Now that her dinner had been scared off, Llian could focus on what it was that did the scaring off. She could sense a strong presence behind her, emitting a dark aura that burned into her bare back.

“You scared away my dinner,” Llian growled without turning to see what was behind her. But she could tell that it had stopped moving.

“I didn’t – you were going to eat them?”

The queen was infuriated by this, and she quickly spun around to face the creature that now stood before her. “I wasn’t going to eat –”

She stopped there upon seeing who it was that had ruined her hunt. She finished her sentence with a “—them…”, letting it trail off silently as none other than the Betrayer himself stood tall and severely wounded.

“Then tell me, woman, what it was you were planning on eating.”

His voice was raspy and worn, the deep guttural sound of each word a clear struggle to get out. He sounded very tired and looked like he was about to collapse.

“How is it that you’re standing?” Llian asked, ignoring his question.

“I-I heard your voice. It beckoned to me.”

 _How close was he? Where did he come from? And when did he get here?_ So many questions ran through the queen’s mind, and she would be damned if she didn’t get the answers from him. But for now, Llian had the pleasure of getting a proper look at the demon, seeing him for the first time in the moonlight.

His muscles had a shimmering halo about them, thanks to the gracious moon, and his glowing tattoos were glimmering across his bare chest, a sign of his forgotten past as a demon hunter. Whatever the stories said about the Betrayer, he was definitely a gorgeous looking man. Someone who could set the cogs of carnal desire into motion for the queen.

And now he stood before her, so weak that he could barely stand, and the only thing that was keeping him up was the faintest hint of trance leftover from her song. He was still under its affects, his eyes fatigued but completely alert and focused on the fairy.

“You look worn,” Llian said softly to the demon. Her song was powerful, but for a situation like this, in order to get him to follow her, she really only needed to speak comfortingly.

“I…am,” he replied with a heavy sigh.

“Come. I will take care of you and your wounds. And then we can talk.”

Llian led the demon to her direwolf, mounting him and continuing on the path back to the palace. Illidan followed close behind, not having to worry much about his pacing. Llian rode slowly so that he could easily keep up. Occasionally she would look over her shoulder and speak sweetly and softly to him, to help keep the trance active as well as assist ibn keeping him upright.

As they reached the edge of the forest, where the tropical jungle began, Illidan’s focus was soon taken from the queen that led him to the surrounding environment. He was in awe at the sight of the nightly bioluminescence, the bright colors dancing before him. A few pixies fluttered by to inspect him, darting to the queen quickly afterwards to whisper their amazement to her.

 _Is it really him? The Betrayer? He is really here?_ They would say. Llian only smiled in response.

Soon the ascent up the mountain had arrived, and Llian stopped her lead.

“Will you be able to make it up the mountain?”

Illidan smiled. “If you sing to me, I should be able to.”

 _What a hopeless romantic._ But Llian gave in and sang a series of soft tunes all the way up to the palace. Watching Illidan’s face as they trekked together was quite entertaining to the queen, especially when they reached the palace. She stopped to let him take it all in.

At the base of the palace was the marketplace, where all types of fae alike gathered to mingle and sell their wares. They came from all across the island to make their money, so that they could return home and feed their families. The merchants varied every day for the most part, with some of them seen in the plaza every day given their proximity to the palace. They shouted at the clientele what they had at their stands, causing it to be a bustle and alive with activity. A few bards even played songs for everyone, but not the kind that would hypnotize people. That was a skill only the rare siren had.

But as Llian and Illidan rode through the plaza to the palace gates, the bustling turned to soft murmurs. People were starting to notice who was traipsing through, and people were starting to stare.

“Ignore them. They won’t bother us,” the queen assured the demon.

“How do you know that?”

“Is it making you uncomfortable?”

“Very.”

Llian smiled. “Well, we’re almost to the palace.”

“Palace?” His attention was back on the queen.

“Yes, the palace.”

“Are you taking me to your queen?”

“Fool,” Llian replied with a chuckle. “I am the queen.”


	4. Torturing the Sailor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains graphic depictions of violence and torture.

Getting the Betrayer cleaned up and settled in proved to be a much more daunting task than Llian had originally thought. She wasn’t there to attend to him – she had some other things she needed to take care of – but she got a report from some of the servants who were helping the doctors that he was being very ornery. He flinched whenever a anyone touched him, he snarled at them when they got too close, he wouldn’t drink the tonics they made for him, and other problems of the like. Llian had to finally give in and go to his guest chambers to help.

When she walked in, several doctors were standing in a corner, faces white with fear, while Illidan stood at the foot of the bed, eyes gleaming with rage and wings spread to maximum length. His wingspan was so long that it blocked the entire path to get behind him and made him appear much larger than he really was, which was already grand.

He was in the middle of yelling at the doctors when the queen arrived on the scene.

“I don’t need your help!” he was shouting. Llian stood and crossed her arms over her chest while she waited for the demon’s attention to come to her. When he saw her standing next to the doctors, his demeanor swiftly changed, and his wings folded back in.

“I can heal on my own over time,” he explained as Llian shooed the doctors away. He followed her as she walked around the bed and sat on the edge. 

“I see they got some of your wounds bandaged before you scared them into submission,” the queen mentioned after looking over Illidan’s body. The deepest wounds on his chest and arms were stitched up and covered, but there were still some scratches that needed tending to. Something that was simple enough for the queen to do on her own. She had very limited medical skills, but it was enough knowledge to at least get her what she wanted.

“I said I don’t need your medical attention,” Illidan reiterated.

“I heard you.” Llian stood up and looked up at the demon. “I know a place that will help soothe you. It will heal your wounds a little faster and relax your aching body.” She looked over the other’s muscular arms as she spoke of his “aching”.

The look on the demon’s face said he had given up this argument, and he sighed heavily. “Where is it?”

Llian smiled. “Here in the palace. I can have a servant take you there. It’ll relax you.”

It took Illidan a moment to respond, but when he did, it was just a nod. With the snap of fingers, the queen had hailed a servant to escort the large man from his room to the indicated room. Then made her own exit to attend to a more important matter.

Feeding.

Her one chance at a decent meal was lost, and she wasn’t sure how safe it would be to return to the coast. The sailors she was hunting the night before didn’t even notice her, but they surely remembered seeing the Betrayer when he cleared the forest and probably told the rest of the crew. But then, thinking back, she recalled the four not being particularly liked amongst the others. Would the rest even believe the story?

Probably not, and Llian decided to take the risk. Besides being exceptionally famished at the moment, she needed to do something about the planted crew themselves. Were they even still there? If they were, how would she get their attention again? The sun still hadn’t risen, so maybe she could just rinse and repeat? But what if the rest of the crew did believe their drunken story? It was possible, and another turn that the queen had to consider.

Should she mount up something larger? Maybe…

 _No_ , she berated herself. _I shouldn’t disturb him for something as trivial as sailors._

She shook her thoughts away and made her way to the stables, where she mounted her direwolf once again and rode out to hunt. The trek was always the same, but this time seemed to take much longer. She couldn’t dispel the worry that followed her from the palace. But, when she arrived on the scene, she was relieved to find the four sailors sitting in the same spots they were the night before, drinking and being loud. Llian looked down the beach to see if she could spot the others, and they were just the same. Fortunately, it didn’t seem that anyone believed the tale.

“I’ll tell ya what, though, I _swear_ – _hic!_ – I saw him. Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer.” Pointed ears perked back in the direction of the prey, listening in on their conversation.

“Yea, I dunno. Doesn’t seem very likely. I mean, isn’t he on Argus?”

“No – _hic!_ – no…he went missing few weeks – _hic!_ – ago.”

“No shit?”

“Yep.” The man took another swig. “But if I had to guess – _hic!_ – he’s probably dead.”

The others burst into laughter.

“Yea probably. Damn fool can’t do anything right.”

“Ha ha, yea, he couldn’t even hunt demons right.”

“Say,” the final, most sober of them all spoke up. “We may really have just been imagining things last night, but I have the faint memory of seeing a beautiful woman last night, too.”

This made Llian’s breath catch in her throat. _One of them remembers…_

The boisterous guffaw that came from the drunkest snapped Llian back to reality.

“You been – _hic!_ – seein’ mermaids, Jackson?”

“No!” came Jackson’s quick defense. “A woman with legs, you twit.”

“Yea? What – _hic!_ – she look – _hic!_ – like?”

“She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

The others grew silent.

“She was wearing a long gown of the finest white silk. Her hair was as red as fire, draped over her perfect breasts in thick, curly locks. Her features were so fair, a butterfly would scratch her with its wings if it landed on her face. She looked almost like…a glass doll.”

The fairy rolled her eyes. This wasn’t the first time she’d heard men talk about her like this. Granted, usually they weren’t recalling her from a deep trance, but it was nothing new regardless. She may have been disgusted by the description, but she was still concerned about whether or not this would ring any bells for the other three.

“You – _hic!_ – are seeing shit, Jackson.”

“I was not! She was right over there!” Jackson directed his finger right at Llian’s hidden face, and the others’ gazes followed it. “She was standing right in front of the Betrayer!”

“Bullshit. He was clearly playing a trick on you.”

“That will be – _hic!_ – enough of your bullshit – _hic!_ – Jackson.”

The queen didn’t want to waste anymore time. As soon as she found the right break in the conversation, she cleared her throat and began her song, the same one from the night before. The drunken sailors stopped their talking and sat motionless for a few seconds, then rose to their feet and sauntered over to the source. She kept singing until they were once again lined up before her.

“I really should keep one alive for questioning,” she murmured to herself as soon as she had finished. The trance would be in effect for some moments longer, but she knew she had time. She looked over the men and decided that if she wanted to keep one, it might as well be Jackson. She knew his name, or at least his last name, and could use that to get a better hold over him.

The other three sailors’ entranced states ceased, and their bodies flopped onto the sand once their souls had been consumed, leaving Jackson to be properly sedated and hoisted over the direwolf in front of Llian. She rode back to the palace with great haste, greeted at the stables by her blue and lilac priestesses.

“I take it you couldn’t find the Betrayer?” the queen asked from atop the direwolf.

“We found him, my lady. We tracked him back here to the palace,” came Meer’s reply.

“Of course, you did. Excellent work, my dears. Now, if you will accompany me, I must get our new prisoner set up nice and comfortable in a cell.”

A collective “Yes, my queen” resonated between the four women, and they followed as she led them to the dungeons of the palace, with two guards in tow to carry the sailor’s limp body. The dungeons were a venture of their own, hidden deep beneath the mountain’s base at the center of a maze of corridors and hallways. Only the queen and her rainbow court knew the exact path to the dungeons; anyone else knew better than to venture into the depths without a proper guide. It was too easy to get lost and extremely difficult to escape. All of the halls looked exactly the same, and some of the trap halls even overlapped others, to further confuse escapees and intruders.

Eventually the entourage made it, stepping into the dark cavern behind their queen. It was barely lit at all, given the immense size of the area, with no ceiling within eyesight and only a couple of torches mounted against the entrance archway. To the untrained eye, it was just a massive darkness.

But to the fae of this island, whose nights were much more frequent, the dungeon was just as frightening as anyone could imagine. Their keen eyes saw the chains and the bones. The tiny pool of frigid water, a bucket sitting alone at the edge. The table at the center where prisoners were tortured. That was the best part, in the queen’s mind. It was a simple stone slap more than it was an actual table, and it was covered in many blood stains of its past victims. So many lives had been claimed on that slab, and so much more blood had been spilt upon its rough surface. Beside the slap on the dungeon floor was a box containing a number of different tools the queen and her generals used to inflict massive amounts of pain on others. On each side atop the slap, four chains attached to cuffs were drilled in to help keep victims from escaping.

“Chain him down,” the queen commanded, and her guards immediately complied, stripping him naked and restraining him on his back. After they had finished, she gave her next demand.

“Wake him up.” The guards walked over to the pool of water, filled the bucket to the brim, and then returned to the slab, dumping the contents onto the Alliance sailor. He jolted awake with a yell, sputtering and coughing.

“What the hell was that for? What’s going on?” The sailor looked frantically around the room, but his eyes perceived nothing in the darkness. “Where the fuck am I?”

“You were caught trespassing on my island,” came the queen’s voice, soft as silk in the pitch around him. It echoed off the walls, coming from everywhere at once. “And now you are my prisoner.”

“No…no, no, no, no…” he repeated, over and over again, until he was finally able to look upon his captors. A lilac priestess lit a torch, illuminating the small space around the captive and revealing the queen and her escort. His eyes widened with recognition the second they saw the queen, and she smiled wickedly back down at him.

“This will go best for you if you comply and answer everything honestly. Do not lie to me; I will know. And the punishment for lying to the queen is harsh.”

“Where are my crewmates? What have you done with them?”

“The other three dim-witted fools that were camping with you? Forget about them. They’re dead.”

A loud howl emitted from the man’s throat at the news of his dead comrades. “No! They were like brothers to me!”

As much as Llian enjoyed watching this pathetic worm struggle and cry, it was getting her nowhere. She only had a few questions to ask, and then she was leaving him down here until she needed him to bargain with, or until she got bored and wanted to really see him squirm.

“Stop your sniveling, maggot. If you want the chance to ever see the light of day again, then you will do as you’re told.”

“Just kill me already!” he begged. But the queen was not merciful.

“Why are you on this island?”

“Just fucking kill me!”

Llian was getting annoyed, and she motioned for the box. The sailor stopped yelling and watched in horror as a lilac priestess picked up the box to hand to her lilac counterpart at her side, who then presented it to the queen. Upon opening the lid, the selection of tools was revealed to the queen, out of the view of the sailor who was straining his neck to see.

“What’s in there? What are you gonna do to me?”

“I will only ask one more time, and if you comply, then I won’t do anything to you. But if you continue to defy me, then you’re going to see yourself in a world of pain unlike you have ever imagined.”

Suddenly, the captive was feeling quite brave. “Y-You don’t scare me, witch!”

As she continued to listen to the man’s whining, Llian selected her first choice tool from the box: a small, metal rod that shone with a thin layer of an unidentifiable, clear liquid. Without warning, she grabbed the sailor’s flaccid penis and began to slowly insert the rod into his urethra. The sound that came from the man’s mouth was inhuman as the burning pain began to take over. It was so bad it brought him to wretch all over himself, the contents of his stomach now emptied out onto his chin and neck. Once he stopped puking, he went back to screaming and crying.

“No! Please, no more! I’ll tell you anything you want to know! Just please, stop!”

 _Quick to beg_ , Llian thought, taking her hand off the rod but not removing it. “Why are you here?” she asked again.

“Our ships ran out of supplies! We were returning home, you see, to Stormwind! We figured we’d only be beached for a few days, then we’d be on our way!”

“Two Alliance ships travelling alone? What was it you were doing?”

“I-I-I don’t know! I’m just a lowly sailor! Captain never bothers to tell us anything! We just do as we’re told, I swear!”

It was clear that this man didn’t know anything. He wasn’t high enough in his ranks to know anything.

“When did you anchor?”

“Two days ago!”

“So then your ships should be leaving today?”

“We don’t know!”

Now the queen was getting agitated. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Well, as far as we’ve seen, ain’t no sun shinin’ on this island! We couldn’t keep track of the days! None of us were sure how long we’d been beached to begin with!”

 _So the ships might still be there…_ Llian couldn’t decide if she wanted to prepare to have to ransom this man to his crew, or if she needn’t worry because they wouldn’t even notice that the four were gone. She really believed in the latter, but she also hated being wrong. She figured the best course of action would be to expect the crew to come looking for him, so she removed the rod from the sailor’s cock, causing him to scream out in pain once more, before commanding her guards to chain him to the wall.

“I will be back for you,” she breathed ominously as the torch went out, surrounding them all once more in a thick layer of black. And then she left, her attendants following close behind to return back to the surface.


	5. Discovery of the Star Crowns

About a week passed before Llian remembered she had another “guest” to take care of, and she took an hour or two to herself the next day to come up with some sort of plan regarding him. But before she could formulate one, she had a lot of questions that needed answers. How did he find the island? What happened on Argus? What exactly did she want with him? Would he be able to help defend the island? Should she even be considering letting him help in the defense? She had no answers, and therefore she had nowhere to start planning. But then she thought that a great place to start might be with the Betrayer himself.

She figured he must be feeling extremely embarrassed right now, having been unable to even be a proper jailor for Sargeras. Especially after having already failed major duties three times before. It was highly unlikely that he would even want to be seen by others, let alone talk to anyone.

 _So, I suppose a good place to start would be to offer him sanctuary,_ she thought to herself. _Welcome him and make him feel comfortable. Earn his trust before asking anything of him._

And what if he wanted something in return, upon her asking for a favor? She would have to be able to give him something back. Llian thought long and hard about what Illidan could possibly want so bad that he would help a stranger like her. And then it clicked.

_His eyes…_

The queen had a staff of several historians whose jobs were not only keep written records of what was going on in Azeroth, but to also teach her about the world’s past, from the most ancient of times to the dealings with the void. They got their information on their own from gathering books and old texts, or from the scouts that reported back to her. A select few were permitted to sit in on court hearings in order to stay informed.

And Llian remembered that, some years ago, the historians had spent a great deal of time studying the third war as it raged. One topic they were particularly careful to study was the one who led the force of Illidari to defeat the Legion: Illidan Stormrage. They made sure to delve deep into the past of the demon and had uncovered a tale of how his eyes had been burned completely out of his head, by none other than Sargeras. Eyes were so simple and yet so complex, thought the queen, but they were something that she could offer Illidan as a gift. They were something she could give to him that would be his own once again.

This was a good start for a plan, and it should be easy enough to carry out. And, if she was lucky, she would win some semblance of control over him.

Before she could move on with the next part, the doors to her chambers opened and in walked a white priestess.

“My queen, the historians have uncovered something that they wish to share with you. They advised to bring the generals with you.”

“Is that recommendation related to Sargeras?”

“It is, my queen.”

She was going to have to continue plotting later. For now, she rose to her feet and let the woman lead her to the library. It was a vast collection of books, scrolls, and tomes, covering every inch of wall you could see. The far wall contained an arching window and no texts, through which one could view a river that ran down the side of the mountain through the jungle. The water sparkled as it flowed, with a few small, six-legged deer drinking from it. A very serene scene for a library.

The historians were all scattered about doing their work in various locations, but a few stood huddled around the large circular table at the center of the room. It was one of many in what served as a lounge, with cushions and sofas for visitors to read in. When Llian approached the men at the table, they all stopped their muttering and stepped aside to clear the way.

Scattered about were scrolls and loose papers written in a language that Llian didn’t speak, but that’s what the historians were for. She waited in the silence before questioning them.

“What have you found?”

“My queen,” said the elderly fairy to her right, “We have found ancient texts detailing two powerful artifacts that might interest you.”

“Go on.”

The historian opened a nearby book that the queen had not noticed before. The cover was made of an old, worn, black leather embossed with twelve silver stars fixed in an unfamiliar night sky pattern. He opened it and flipped to a section he had bookmarked with a thin piece of silk.

“My queen, these two artifacts are very ancient and sacred. They have the ability to give you immense power. They are called the Crowns of Twelve and Seven. One crown is made up of twelve stars, and the other is made up of seven. When placed upon the heads of a wedded royal couple, they will grant the wearer of the Twelve all of the power of the universe.”

The room was silent for a moment, save for the rustling of robes and papers. _All the power in the universe?_ That had to be a lot of power. In fact, it sounded like an _ungodly_ amount of power. These were two artifacts that had the ability to make a singular person unstoppable.

“Finding these artifacts surely would be a daunting task. I wouldn’t think them to be easy to locate,” the queen pointed out.

The historian flipped to a different section. “According to this book, they must be extracted separately from pockets in the universe. It mentions a spell to cast for the Crown of Twelve, but nothing of the Crown of Seven.”

“It mentions that there is a spell. Does it happen to also contain the spell?”

“My queen, it does not. We have already begun the search for the spell, but so far we have come out empty-handed.” He gestured to the mess on the table.

“Indeed,” Llian replied, her eyes focused on the papers. She couldn’t read them, but some contained charts that she recognized to be star charts. A few of them were maps of the heavens as seen from the island’s observatory tower. The others depicted constellations she had never seen before, even on her hunts. “Keep up the search. And keep me informed.”

“Yes, my queen,” the three fae said in unison before bowing as the queen took her leave. Her white priestess followed her to her war room, where her generals stood over their own table, trying to come up with a proper battle plan and getting nowhere.

“We will need to place more security and forces at the capital, to protect our queen and the dense population within it,” was Trill’s opinion.

“We shouldn’t waste that many forces when there are other lives across the island that need protecting as well,” came Strands’s view.

“You’re both fools. We need to arm the subjects all across the island! Everyone who can fight needs to do so!” bolstered Ives. “We must focus on weaponry and how to best train the people!”

Droves remained silent. He was still heavily fixated on the maps before him.

The arguing stopped when the queen approached them, and they all bowed and stood to attention.

“How is this coming along?” the queen inquired.

“Not well, my lady,” answered Strands. “There are too many ways to go about this, and none of us can come to an agreement.”

“We’ll put a pin in those plans. I have heard some news that might change how you look at this impending war.”

The generals didn’t respond, only waited eagerly to hear what their matriarch was about to tell them.

“My historians have uncovered the existence of a pair of crowns that, when placed on the heads of a king and queen, give one of the wearers an immense resource of power.”

“How much power are we talking about exactly?” asked Droves.

“They didn’t tell me. They’re still searching for the way to acquire these crowns. But it sounds like it could be more than enough power to singlehandedly take down Sargeras.”

Silence. Followed by, “That’s impossible!” from Trills. “Sargeras is a titan! No single effort is strong enough to take him on alone!”

“I believe there is. And for now, I want you all to plan for a war that could be won as if there is. Make sure we have a large enough back-up force, in case the crowns aren’t what they appear to be. Make sure that we’re ready for whatever comes our way.”

“So, you want us to come up with a war plan under the premise that, I’m assuming you, will fight alone?” asked Ives in disbelief.

“Precisely.”

“That’s absurd!”

“Do NOT question your queen’s authority!” Llian snapped. “Defiance does not end well, especially for a general.”

The reprimand shut Ives up and he hung his head in shame. “Yes, my queen. We will do as you ordered.”

“A much better answer, General. And now I must leave. I have some other matters to take care of.”

As she turned to exit the war room, a question from General Sands stopped her.

“What is to become of the Betrayer?”

Llian didn’t answer the question directed at her. Instead, she replied with:

“If I hear any of you refer to him by that name again, I will personally behead you in front of my entire court.”


	6. The Alliance Crew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Chapter contains graphic depictions of violence, blood, and gore.

Llian’s insatiable desire to hold onto power was hard to control. She refused to let it falter even a bit, and many people feared her for it. She knew she had to rule with an iron fist, or else everyone would just walk all over her. Because of this, her punishments were usually less than fair. She never went overboard if the crime was minimal, but harsher judgment was always given to the most heinous of the unlawful. There had also been a few times when the queen had been known to lose control and take a life when it probably didn’t need to be taken.

She always wondered if those moments were proper for a queen, but would quickly dispel them, telling herself that her judgment was always just, and snuffing out a few lives was necessary to keep enemies at bay. If she wanted anyone to outright fear her, it was intruders. And it was intruders that usually received the brunt of sudden executions ordered by the queen.

The more she thought about it, the more Llian realized how the outcome of those methods had played out. Anyone who was alive long enough to fear the queen to that level ended up dying. She never let anyone go to warn their fellows about her. This was mainly because for her to be truly neutral, she had to stay hidden. And she didn’t want outsiders placing her little island on a map.

Which was where the queen had been left: the Alliance ships. Her scouts informed her the day prior - the day she met with her historians - that the ships were still anchored off the southern beach, and that they didn’t look to be packing up any time soon. She feared they were looking for the four missing sailors. And then she remembered that, although she hid the bodies, she had done so hastily. The rest of the crew had probably found them.

“They did find the three bodies,” the scout had said, “but they think the men killed themselves in a drunken stupor.”

“What are they doing now, then, instead of cleaning up to leave?”

“They went into the forest to search for the fourth body.”

The one in the dungeon.

This could not be allowed to continue. These Alliance sailors needed to be stopped immediately, before they ventured too close to the jungle. She never let anyone get too close to the jungle. It’s beauty and radiance were too enticing for outsiders, and they would certainly continue on to explore. Being as careful as Llian had been – making sure to keep intruders away from the jungle, thus keeping her capital’s location hidden – is what kept her so neutral during Azeroth’s life. And if these men breached the tree line…

She wasn’t about to let that happen.

So to the throne room the queen went, calling forth her generals and her Rainbow Court. They were all quick to arrive, her priestesses taking their places along the walkway and the generals standing before their queen.

Llian didn’t sit down. She stood at the front of the walkway, staring the generals down with her hands behind her back.

“We have some uninvited guests wandering through the conifers,” the queen began. The four in front of her didn’t respond.

“You and my priestesses will go into those woods and stop them from reaching the jungle. They must not be allowed to live. Not a soul. Do I make myself clear?”

The generals saluted the queen and bowed, bellowing out a collective, “For the siren queen!” before exiting the hall.

Now the queen took a seat upon her throne, hanging her head in her right hand. She hoped that the sixteen of them would be able to handle this on their own. The lower priestesses were still learning, for someday they may be called to replace one of their white-robed counterparts, but the most they would be able to do would be to assist their higher-ranking sisters from the flanks. Their magical abilities weren’t as good as they could be. But their queen had called upon them and given them a task, and she knew they wouldn’t return to the palace until that task was complete. Or they wouldn’t return at all.

The only thing left to do now is wait for them to come back, praying in the meantime that they are successful in their quest. Llian’s head lulled to the side. Should she even be sitting here? Or should she be out with her warriors, defending their home from the Alliance intruders? After pondering what she should do for quite some time, she decided that she wouldn’t be a very good queen if she didn’t fight alongside her troops. So, she got up from the throne and went to her chambers, her white priestesses following closely behind her. They split for only a moment to open the doors for Llian and bring the handmaidens in, but otherwise didn’t leave her side.

When it came to fighting, Llian could do two things: sing and use whatever fae magic she had access to. Otherwise, she wasn’t trained in any sort of fighting style. Not that she ever needed to learn anything of the sort. Singing was usually good enough. If she needed to use magic, she only needed the bare minimum. With nothing but the will of her mind, she would bend the forces of nature to her will, forcing the forest to attack and defend. And this fight would be no different than the others, Llian presumed. Especially since her generals and priestesses would be fighting. She felt like she didn’t need to be there, but kept convincing herself that a good queen rules, but a great one fights.

Her handmaidens entered the room, the queen’s battle armor draped over their arms. The first pieces to go on were all of the red cloths that protected Llian’s fair skin from the metals of the armor. Consisting of a thick velvet shirt and pants, they were all that were needed to prevent abrasions and chafing. Over the velvet was placed a vest of chain mail. There wasn’t much to the armor, either. A chest piece with pauldrons, gauntlets, and separate leg covers, but the idea wasn’t to cover the siren’s body. It was quality armor, strong and durable, and it was able to protect whatever it covered, and well. But for the queen, too much armor made it difficult to seduce targets, therefore making her a less effective fighter. She needed protection from weapons, yes, but being able to use her skills without interruption from heavy armor was more important to her.

What made the armor so much more adequate was its appearance. Made from solid gold, it was embossed with designs of the local plant life surrounding the capital, and at the center was a human skull. It was painted with matching gold flowers and leaves and set in its eye sockets were two large, sparkling scarlet rubies. The pauldrons were mirror images of the skull on the chest piece’s center, and all three skulls were harvested from victims of the queen’s fury. The gauntlets and leg pieces matched the chest, and the armor left the midriff open to expose the chain mail backed with red. The royal crown was a diadem of golden thorns, decorated with dancing pixies and glittering rubies. The set was further completed by the queen’s choice to leave her flowing hair down and free, and the whole thing gave her an appearance of immense elegance and grace. The queen stepped into her golden boots and made her leave of the palace.

Now to decide what to mount into this “battle”.

_Kingslayer…_

Using him would surely make this go by a lot quicker, but again, it wasn’t something drastic enough to make the queen want to disturb him. If she ever needed to use that beast to get a job done, she always wanted him in pique condition.

So, as before, she chose to mount her direwolf. As she was riding out of the kennels, she spotted her generals on their horses, which were built much like the direwolf. Slightly smaller than the wolf, they had two sets of front legs, a single set of hind legs, and no fur to speak of. Their eyes gleamed white, whereas the direwolf’s were yellow, and this difference alone made the horses a lot less terrifying to behold.

“My queen, you will be joining us?” General Ives directed at Llian, stopping his horse behind her direwolf.

“I am. You never know when you might need the Siren’s call to aid you.”

Ives laughed and nodded in agreement. “’Tis true, my lady.”

Llian took this as confirmation that they were ready, and kicked her wolf into an abrupt sprint, and with her generals following at a safe distance, they hurtled off into the thick jungle.

Along the way, Llian caught glimpses of her priestesses darting through the trees. They were all so nimble and quick that if you’re eyes were as keen as the queen’s, they still would only appear as blurs of the colors of their robes. They would be first to reach the forest and the sailors, but they would hide in the shadows to wait for the others.

When Llian spotted the tree line, she motioned for the generals to slow their pace and quiet themselves. They all dismounted and continued on foot, following the queen and her crouching direwolf in complete silence. It wasn’t long before unfamiliar voices were within earshot of the ambush. Llian’s wolf followed the voices until she spotted the first sailor through the trees. The sun was out today, and its rays shone bright through the thick conifers of the trees.

“I’m tellin’ ya, sir. He’s lost. He probably got snatched up by some animal.”

“Don’t say that. There’s still a chance we might find him. Maybe he can tell us what happened to the other three.”

“That may be, but you gotta think here, sir. This island is massive! We’ll never find him in time and we really need to be getting’ back to Stormwind.”

The man leading the expedition, whom Llian assumed to be one of the ships captains, stopped walking and sighed.

“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

He looked up into the trees and thought for a moment, all the while his followers silent as ever as they waited for the captain’s orders. Llian looked around for any sign of the other captain, but there seemed to be only the one. No one else in the troupe bore the same armor as this one did; they were all dressed like the average sailor.

After some time of thinking, the captain had made a decision. “It seems that Jackson is surely lost. He must’ve been taken by an animal. As were…the other three. Is that clear?”

The rest of the crew responded with a resounding, “Aye.”

“Then we shall take our leave. Someone make sure this island gets noted on a map. The king may want to send some boats back to explore it further.”

This is where the queen’s “troops” made their move. Within the blink of an eye, four sailors were falling dead on the ground, their throats spewing blood onto the grass below. No one saw what had killed them, and in the first moments of panic, four more went down.

“Sir, we’re under attack!”

The speaker was the next to die, along with seven of his crewmates. Within minutes, the search party of one captain and 30 sailors had diminished to just the captain, who had by now drawn his sword and taken a stance to fight.

“Show yourselves!” he screeched into the wilderness once the carnage had ceased. But no answer came. He swiveled around frantically, his armor clanking loudly with each move. Llian and the others kept hidden, waiting to see if he would do anything. But all he did was keep his guard up and stand umongst the dead.

So, Llian decided to make herself known. Dismounting her direwolf, she stepped into the light of the sun.

“What brings a sorry little human like you here to my island?” she hissed in his direction.

The man swung around and pointed his sword at the queen. “You have slain my men. Prepare to die, witch!”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she replied softly. This made the captain pause. “You didn’t see me kill all of your men. You didn’t see anyone kill all of your men. Whatever it was might still be out there, you know.”

The captain didn’t withdraw his sword, but he didn’t move any closer. “What was it that killed all of my men?”

Llian snickered. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes, I very much would like to know.”

“Too bad. That’s my secret to keep. Now, if I remember correctly, I asked you a question. What are you doing here?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the man responded in a mocking tone. In one swift motion, General Strands had him pinned against a tree, her war blade at his throat and her eyes searing with hatred. Llian sauntered over next to them and looked the captain over.

“You are trespassing on _my_ island, which makes it my right to know why you’re here.”

“Answer the queen, fool,” snarled Strands.

The captain dropped his sword. “We were just stopping to restock! Then we found three of u=our men dead and one of them missing! We were only out here looking for them!”

“And where is the rest of your crew? I saw two ships in my waters, but here I see only one captain.”

“They stayed behind to pack up! We were only going to look until sundown!”

The fairy clicked her tongue. “Hm, I suppose that’s no reason to kill you.” This earned her a sigh of relief from the captain. “ _However,_ ” the queen closed in on the captain’s face, her nose only a breath away from his cheek. “You did mention that you had intentions to map out my island, so that you may revisit it in the future. That is something I cannot allow. And thus, you must perish with your crew.”

This was the queen’s signal to her general, who took the liberty of slicing her war blade across the captain’s throat. His neck opened up a torrent of crimson blood, which began to sputter from his mouth to add to the fray. He gurgled and choked, then crumpled onto the grass in a dead lump. Strands sheathed her blade and the queen mounted up.

“Excellent. Our problem has been solved. Generals,” the other three appeared and all four stood to attention. “Go to the beach and take care of the rest of them. Slaughter everyone you see. Leave none of them alive.

“Yes, my queen,” came the response. Llian smiled and watched them ride off towards the south beach, waiting for the sounds of their mounts to fade before turning and heading back to the palace.

It was time to pay Illidan a visit.


	7. The Diamond Baths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gracing the world with an early, sexy chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains extreme sexual and adult content.

“I hate to bother you, my queen, but have you even seen the Betrayer since he got here?”

Llian sat in her chambers in front of her mirror, fidgeting with the straps of her gown in her reflection. One of her royal advisors, Jackal, stood at the door, averting his eyes from the royal figure.

“Don’t call him that,” she snapped back.

“Yes, my queen.”

Llian did not want advisors. They only served to be annoying and to get in her way. Rarely did she listen to their advice. There were few times, according to the queen, where their judgment was better than her own, and she despised it.

“To answer your question, Jackal: yes, I have seen him since he got here. I helped mend his wounds.”

“By inviting him to soak in your personal bath, yes, I know, my queen. But he’s been going every single night.”

“I’m aware.”

“He has to come through this room to get to the bath, my queen.”

“Yes.”

“And where have you been bathing, my queen?”

Llian glanced at Jackal’s reflection in the mirror. “Do you think that a wise question to ask your queen?”

“No, my lady.” The advisor looked to the ceiling as he carefully thought of what to say next. “I only mean, have you been avoiding your room, so you won’t run into him?”

The queen paused as she stared at herself. “No. I’ve been avoiding my room to give him space. And it’s only when he’s bathing.”

Jackal nodded his head before asking his next question. “And where might you be going now, my lady?”

Llian smiled. “I’m going to take a bath.”

“In your private-.”

“Yes! In my private bath! Please leave your queen at once!”

Jackal’s mouth snapped shut and he quickly turned to leave the room, closing the doors behind him. Llian was left alone, still checking her appearance in the mirror. The white satin of her gown billowed down to her feet, the fabric thin and translucent to display the naked form beneath. Her hair barely covered the dark circles of her nipples and was decorated with tiny white flowers. The sleeves of the dress hung lazily passed her bare shoulders, further giving off the illusion of innocence. There wasn’t a soul on Azeroth that could resist the queen when she donned this gown. It was one of her favorites.

The queen’s eyes moved to the door that led down into her private bath. At the bottom, Illidan rested in its warm waters, unaware of his visitor in the bedroom. She let out a soft, nervous sigh, then stepped towards the dimly lit corridor.

The walk down was long and gradual, leading farther into the mountain’s depths away from the bedroom. It went deeper than the dungeons did, which were on the other side of the palace so as to not disturb the peacefulness of the baths. The walk was about four or five minutes long, but never had it felt longer to the queen than now.

When she reached the end, it opened up into a gaping cavern with a singular hole at the top to allow the moonlight to shine in. And when it shone, full and round, its light reflected off the mammoth diamonds that canvased the walls. A rainbow of colors glittered around the bath, which was currently occupied by the great winged beast that was Illidan Stormrage. Still unaware of the queen’s presence, he sat naked in the pool, which was steaming with heat from the small magma pocket beneath the island. His clawed fingers lazily stirred the shimmering water, and he looked as content as ever.

Llian circled the room at its edge, keeping out of sight as she observed the demon hunter. The light from the diamonds danced on his flesh, giving it a faint halo that attracted the fairy closer. She was about halfway to the pool’s edge when she began to sing:

_“The sword is shining_

_With red and gold_

_My heart will not rest_

_Until my body lies cold.”_

At first, Illidan’s form twitched with surprise at the newcomer’s voice, but then it relaxed and slumped back against the stone. “What are you doing here?” he managed to get out before Llian’s song began again. Any strength he had just mustered immediately left him, and he slouched back down. The fairy reached the edge of the bath and sat down next to Illidan, dipping her feet in the warm water.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked him as she dangled her feet slowly.

Illidan looked around at the cavern. “It is very beautiful.” There was a moment of silence before he asked again, “What are you doing here?”

Llian laughed. “What am I doing here? In _my_ private bath?” Nothing. “I see the waters served their purpose.”

The demon looked down at his mending scars. Most of the minor ones had since healed, and the deeper ones on his chest were closed. He had even taken off the bandages. “Yes. My wounds are nearly gone, thanks to these waters.” His gaze faltered for a moment, then met Llian’s. “Thank you.”

The queen smiled in return. “There’s so much more that I can give you. I want you to know that you’re safe here. There’s no need to worry about your foes finding you.”

The other was mute for some time after hearing the queen’s assurances. “I have failed to keep a destructive titan from being released back into the world,” he said, finally. “And the time he spent with me was not favorable. He will come looking for me.”

“And I said you don’t need to worry. Aside from the fact that this island isn’t on any map, we can take care of Sargeras. He’s nothing to worry about.” At this point, Llian slid into the bath waters, immersing herself completely before coming back up to the surface. Her gown clung to her with no sign of letting go, but Illidan was paying no attention. “Are you finding your accommodations suitable?”

“I am. You have some of the finest cloth I’ve ever touched.”

A smile voiced the queen’s thanks. “All of the fabrics in my palace are made by some of the most skilled seamstresses on the island. That, and they’re spun with fae magic. It enhances comfort.”

The demon hummed in response. “What is this island called, anyway?”

Llian chuckled. “Believe it or not, the island has no name. My ancestors thought coming up with a name for an island was too trivial of a task and believed their energy should be spent on more important things, such as hiding the palace.”

“They did an amazing job. You can’t see the palace from anywhere. At least not from where I was standing.”

“You’re referring to the night you interrupted my dinner?”

“Yes.”

The queen rested her head on the edge of the bath and stared up at Illidan. “I think you should know that I have ordered all of those men to be slain.”

Illidan frowned. “Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”

“It may have been, but I can’t chance anyone finding this island and putting it on their maps. It would only lead to chaos for my people, and we’ve worked for eons to keep this peace.”

The two sat in silence for a bit, Illidan unsure of what to say and Llian enjoying the view. “Where will you go?” the queen asked, breaking the silence.

The demon didn’t say anything for quite some time. “I don’t know. There isn’t really anywhere for me to go.”

“You could stay here.”

“No, I can’t”

“Why not?”

Now Illidan looked down at the fairy. Her bust distracted him for a moment, but it was fleeting. “I am a danger to you and your people. You may think you’re well hidden, but Sargeras _will_ find me, and he will destroy your island to get to me.”

Llian snickered. “You severely underestimate me, demon. My people have protected this island from all sorts of outside forces for generations. We’ve been here since the beginning of time and still no one has any record of us.”

The conversation ceased once more, leaving the two sitting in the lull of the bath’s waters.

“Stay with us,” the queen eventually said. Her voice was soft and soothing, and she could see Illidan beginning to relax again.

“I can’t…”

“Stay with us,” she repeated.

“I can’t!”

“Stay with me.”

This got Illidan to quiet himself. He looked down at the other in disbelief. Then, she moved from the wall and pressed up against his leg.

“I can give you anything you want, Illidan.” When she spoke his name, she did so with a purr, and the lids of his eyes began to fall. “Whatever you desire most. Just say it and I will give it to you.”

“I…I don’t know what I desire most.”

Llian smiled. This is what she’d been preparing for.

“I can start by giving you your eyes.”

Now Illidan’s attention was glued to the queen’s face. “ _My eyes?_ ”

“Well, not _your_ eyes. A new pair of eyes.”

“Where will you get these eyes?”

“From someone else.” The demon tensed up. “Not the eyes of anyone you know. They’ll be a stranger to you.”

“But then they wouldn’t be mine.”

“I will make them yours.”

Illidan sat in silence, pondering the queen’s offer. A large hand rose to touch the fabric that covered the places where his eyes had once been. It would be nice to have them back, even if they were taken from someone else.

“Yes,” he said after a minute or two. “I accept your gift.”

“Good.” Llian sat up and rose from the water, standing directly in front of Illidan. Now he was seeing all of her, for the first time, in all her glory. His eyes grew wide as they went from her face to her chest, which was currently at eye level for him. The sound of a sharp intake of breath came from the demon, causing Llian to giggle. “Won’t it be nice to have a pair of eyes to call your own once more.” With an index finger, the queen pressed against Illidan’s chest, prompting him to sit on the edge of the bath rather than in it, his feet now the only part of him submersed. Again, she sang a tune to calm his nerves, all while repositioning herself to straddle him.

It was clear the demon hadn’t been intimate in some time. His cock was utterly solid, pressed against his abdomen as the fairy climbed onto his lap. Watching as she lifted the skirts of her gown and slowly descended, he didn’t once breaking eye contact. She took in the entire girth and length of his erection, and tte couple let out moans, soft pink lips curled in a sly smirk.

“You are permitted to touch the queen.”

Illidan hadn’t done anything with his hands yet, but upon hearing this, they went straight for her waist. Using them as a guide, they moved Llian up and down, the thick clawed fingers curing around the form of that perfect ass they clung to.

“Why-,” he began to ask, but he was silenced by a pale, slender finger to his lips.

“Don’t question it,” Llian cooed. “Just enjoy it.”

And enjoy it he did. From start to finish. The fairy went at him for a good couple of hours, not once letting her demon take control. The only thing he was allowed to do was run his hands up and down her sides and front, and at one point he even dared to pull down the top of her dress, exposing her breasts completely to the cold, cavernous air. She didn’t stop him, because now he was free to fondle her while she moved expertly on his lap. High pitched squeals and sighs came from the dainty fairy periodically, voicing the amount of pleasure that she was very obviously experiencing.

Illidan, on the other hand, was having a little bit of a dilemma. On the one hand, he was enjoying himself just as much as the next guy would be. Any man would give his soul to be graced with such a taught, wet cunt. On the other, for the entire duration of the moment, all the demon could do was sit there and watch. There was nothing he wanted more right then than to flip her onto her stomach and plow into her. An aching pain boiled to life in his groin, inducing a deep guttural moan from the larger being. The smaller felt his cock twitch, hinting to the inevitable.

As his end was nearing, Llian turned around to face the pool, leaning back against his body to steady herself. He kept his hands on her breasts, pinching and twisting his partner’s nipples until finally he released. Letting out a sweet moan that matched the demon’s, she reached behind her head to grab his horns, pulling his head forward so that she could whisper in his ear.

“Stay with me,” came the queen’s voice, soft and sweet as honey.

“I will,” the demon vowed. “I will stay with you until the very end of time.”

Llian rode out the last few waves of her own orgasm before falling forward into the water. Illidan followed suit, slipping back in and sinking until the warmth was just beneath his nostrils. His heavy breathing added steam to the room, and he watched the figure of the woman that’d just fucked him slither up to him.

“Where did you learn to do that?” he asked her as she made herself comfortable against his heaving chest.

“Practice,” was her reply. The other’s cheeks flushed a bit red, making it hard for Llian to stifle a laugh. “Oh, yes, my dear. I’ve been doing this for quite some time now. You aren’t the first to fall victim to the Siren’s Song.”

“I wouldn’t say that I ‘fell victim’.”

The queen turned to face the demon. “You were so worn and beat up that you couldn’t even hold yourself up, yet upon hearing the sound of my voice, you rose to your feet and followed it long enough to scare my prey off. You’re infatuated with me.”

Illidan growled down at the red head between his legs, and she raised her brows in warning.

“If you aren’t now, you soon will be. I’m just that magical.”

Once again, there was no reply from the great demon. She was right, and he knew it. She could see it even in the deepest depths of the two flaming orbs that served as his eyes. He was already beginning to fall for her. He had sworn his undying allegiance to her, and it was the perfect start for a hastily thought up plan. And who knew? Maybe she would end up falling for him, too. _But only time will tell that…_

The queen washed herself in the waters and exited, having earlier discarded her sopping dress to the side. She crossed the cavern naked, pausing to address Illidan once more before passing into the cavern.

“If you ever find your chambers to be unsuitable – for any reason at all – let me know. I will see to it the problem is swiftly fixed. Even if your bed feels a bit lonely at night, tell me.” She gave him a wink and a smirk before heading back to her room to change.


	8. A Hidden Secret

The next few days were spent cleaning up the aftermath of the queen’s orders against the Alliance crews. There were roughly 70 bodies – including the captains – that needed to be dragged away from the water. The standard protocol for disposing dead intruders was to burn them, and the fire that blazed from the amount of executed carcasses in it was grandiose and intense. The heat could be felt for miles down the side of the mountain, and the smoke billowed up into the night sky, obscuring the moon and the stars. But the fae sang and danced around this colossal flame, celebrating the queen’s success in keeping them all safe.

The fire raged on for almost a week, and every night the people partied. There was an amazing influx of visitors from across the island, bringing their specialty foods and alcohol to share in the festivities. The queen was found, on occasion, to be roaming the cobble streets of her capital, partaking in a few dances, and eating and drinking, becoming quite intoxicated on a few of the nights. And every night that the queen went to join the people, Illidan was there as well, hiding away in the shadows and watching the graceful woman enjoy herself. He wanted more than anything to go out and be with her, but the presence of the fae was making him uneasy.

There was so much about the fae that Illidan didn’t know, but one thing was for certain: they were beings of great magical potential. He could sense it flowing through them and being cast out into their auras. They had a connection to nature that he’d never witnessed, even in his druid brother. And now that they were all gathered together, the magic they dispelled into the air was astronomical.

On the final night of the celebrating, when the fire was beginning to fade, the queen had become especially drunk from a foreign man’s wine and was dancing naked around the blaze with a few other fae, also dancing in the nude. It was a magical sight to behold, however they were soon approached by another fairy, a rather large looking man, who decided that he too, in his drunken stupor, would like to dance with the naked women. But he got a little too close to the queen, and even reached out to grab one of her bare breasts, which earned him a slap in the face. Not knowing who he was messing with, he grabbed her fair wrists and yanked her forward, continuing to grab and feel her up. Illidan had seen enough and intervened. He didn’t have to do much, though. The sight of the great winged demon was enough to send the man fleeing from Llian. He may not have known he was touching the queen, but he knew who Illidan was, and that quickly reminded him.

The surrounding fae stared for only a moment before shrugging off the incident and continuing with their fun. The demon was surprised that they were paying him no mind, causing Llian to laugh when he voiced this.

“They don’t care about what you did. You protected the queen. To them, you were just doing your duty.”

Illidan looked down at the queen. Her form was so beautiful and flawless, yet so fragile. He didn’t want anyone hurting her, lest her perfect body be broken. Her smooth skin was outlined by a red light, cast by the fire behind her.

“I’m sorry. I’m just…not used to that.”

“You’re used to everyone watching your every move, all the while judging you for them.”

“How did you know?”

“We have more in common than you think, demon.”

“Why do you call me ‘demon’?”

Llian smiled. “Because that’s what you are.”

Illidan scoffed and looked away. Usually people said it as if it were an insult, as if just uttering it caused them great pain. Not Llian. She was saying it simply because it was a fact.

“Do you want to dance?”

The hunter’s head snapped back towards the queen.

“I…can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Llian replied with a smirk. The other didn’t respond, so she took it as defeat and grabbed his hand. But she didn’t lead him to the fire. Instead, she led him away from the others and into the ebony of the night, where the stars were once again glimmering in the sky. The moon was new and thus hidden within the dark heavens.

Illidan continued to say nothing as the queen turned to face him, resting her free hand on his enormous shoulder. Still naked, she was no longer haloed by the red light of a fire. Now she shone with a white radiance, not from the moon but from the stars themselves. The demon was awestruck by the corona bursting around her, and he robotically placed a hand on her waist, letting her lead him in a simple dance.

“You are by far one of the most captivating beings I’ve ever seen,” he said finally. It earned him a shy smile.

“Well, thank you. Usually a man’s description of me is quite lewd.”

This motivated Illidan to look down at her chest and reply, “How could they do such horrible things?”, causing the queen to roll her eyes.

“Now that this exhausting partying is coming to an end,” the queen said, ignoring Illidan’s sarcastic commentary, “we’ll be going out to the beach and bringing the ships in. We’ll take whatever is of any use to us and burn the ships down, just like their crews.”

“And will there be an exhausting party for those wild blazes?”

“Most likely.”

Demonic eyes returned to the fair chest. “And will you be dancing naked with your people?”

“Maybe.” Llian pressed closer to the other, her exposed flesh meeting with his bare chest. “Or maybe I’ll dance naked just for you.”

A soft purr emitted from Illidan’s throat. He leaned forward and brushed his lips across her temple. “I would like that.”

“I’m sure you would.” Llian looked passed Illidan’s outline back to where the fire had finally gone out. Fae of all kinds were scattered about, either completely passed out from dancing and drinking too much or fumbling around trying to find a good spot to collapse. “Looks like it’s all over.”

“We should get back to the palace.”

“Are you walking me there?”

Illidan smiled. “I’ll carry you, if you command it.”

The queen chuckled. “Thank you, but I can walk.”

The couple engaged in small talk while they strolled back to the palace, taking their sweet time, and stopping only to admire some of the fauna they saw along the way. Llian would explain to Illidan what the different plants were and how they functioned in the jungle. Some of them gave off a sweet scent to lure insects to their deaths. Others gave off a pungent smell that deterred predators. A couple of their stops were to inspect the wild fruit, and one tree in particular hung low with its harvest. The queen plucked two from its branches, handing one to Illidan, which he immediately sunk his pointed teeth into. The juices leaked out and down his chin, dripping onto the forest floor beneath. Llian was a little cleaner with her methods.

They finally reached the palace and entered the foyer, and Llian stopped to address the other.

“This is where we part, my demon.”

She’d only said it twice, but the second time took more of an emotional hold on Illidan. He had been in the capital for a couple of months now, and the more hospitality the queen gave him, the more he began to lower his guard. That was the effect the siren had on others. She was very good at manipulating them to get what she wanted.

“Are you going to be at the burning of the ships?” he asked.

“I will. And are you going to be there?”

“I am now,” he replied with a smile before turning to walk off to his room. The queen watched him until he was out of sight, then went to her own chambers to slumber until her handmaidens woke her.

*************

Having already experienced its one day with sun for the month, the island was still shrouded in darkness when Llian awoke. The sound of movement and preparations for the day stirred her from her dreams and she sat up to stretch her aching limbs.

“Good morning, my queen,” came a greeting from one of her maidens. She was small and fair, just like the queen, with skin the color of the seafoam the crashed upon the rocks of the island. Her face was painted with elegant shapes and designs, and she bore only two piercings: on in her right cartilage and one in her right nostril. A thin chain of gold connected the two rings, dangling small teardrop diamonds on her cheek. Her hair was fair and short, styled back like a small blue flame. “We have brought a few gowns for you to choose from for the ship raiding.”

The other maiden, tall and thick with curves, held out two dresses for the queen to view. Her skin matched her comrade’s, but instead was painted with the spots of a jaguar. Her hair, a deep mahogany, was lazily put up in a bun, something that would bother most royals, but not this one. She didn’t care about subjective things such as looks. She picked her closest confidents based on their morals and loyalty. The dresses, in contrast, were all dark shades, decorated with diamonds and sapphires to match the night sky. All were long with flowing skirts and varied very little from each other. One had a breastplate that went with it, made of silver with designs of thorns and bristles. The breastplate had no pauldrons, but instead had a singular separate shoulder piece that matched in beauty. At some of the apexes of the thorns, glittering rubies had been placed to symbolize droplets of blood. The finishing touch was a long black satin cape, which attached at the front below the queen’s collarbone.

The queen saw this gown and lost all interest in the others. “This one reflects me best,” she said, which was the cue for the maidens to start their work. They threw the dress over her head and fidgeted with the cloth until it fit over her body perfectly. Then they tied the strings of the breastplate, clasped the cape around her, and attached the pauldron to her left shoulder. Around her neck, the small maiden fastened a radiant necklace of diamonds and rubies, with the red gems placed to look like blood was dripping from the queen’s neck. Upon the queen’s head, a crown with diamond obelisks jutting up from her scalp and a bright silver star at the center peak. The balance of dark colors was interrupted by her fiery red hair, which was adorned with flower shaped gemstones of red.

“You look positively regal, my lady,” said the curvy maiden with a warm smile.

“Thank you, Olivetta,” Llian replied. With a final heavy sigh, the queen took one last look at herself and left the room.

Following the halls to the palace entrance, her maidens were replaced by her white priestesses, who accompanied her the rest of the way. She only stopped at the door when a familiar voice called out her title.

“My queen.”

It was Illidan. And he had already resorting to calling her his queen. _How adorable._

Llian turned to face the demon, the sight of her stopping him dead in his tracks. He, unlike the queen, had chosen to wear what he wore every time she saw him: a simple pair of cloth pants and no shirt to speak of. But she didn’t mind. She rather enjoyed the sight before her: a large man with full, bulging muscles. Very different from her tiny, defenseless appearance.

“Illidan. You have impeccable timing.”

The demon smiled and began to follow behind her. He wanted to walk beside her, but those positions were already occupied, and he dared not argue that matter.

“I may have been told that time and time again,” he retorted with a sly smirk. The queen walked her entourage out of the palace and to the stables. She mounted her usual direwolf while the priestesses mounted two direhorses. Illidan did not mount anything.

“I think I’m not suited for your mounts,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. The queen grinned and snapped for a stable boy.

“Bring him Colossus.”

The boy scampered off and when he returned, it was with another direhorse, but this one was a lot different. Instead of being the size of an average horse, it was about twice as large, with the staple six legs and hairless body. And placed inside its large mouth were two long rows of razor-sharp canines. Illidan stared the beast down before mounting it, the horse a perfect fit for him. The queen marveled at him and then took off at a sprint towards the beach.

The troupe sped through the jungle, darting through the trees until tropical became coniferous once again. They were out of the lesser forest quickly, and soon hooves and paws alike were running through loose sand along the water.

The beach was littered with the remains of the sailor’s camp. All that remained of the bodies was their blood staining the sand and the depressions where they once lay. The remnants of old fires sat at the center of little groups of tents, surrounded by personal belongings, crates, and empty rum barrels. A large amount of fae had already arrived and begun sifting through the items, taking what they wanted and tossing the rest into a large pile. No one had yet gone to the ships, however. They were waiting for the queen to arrive before taking rowboats out to them.

Llian’s crew halted and dismounted, and before she could get her bearings, a short stocky fairy rogue approached her.

“We didn’t want to bring them in until you had a chance to look. We have a boat ready, my queen. To take you out to the ships.”

She looked out at the crafts. Thy were both identical in shape, size, and the flag they flew. But nobody knew what treasures lie aboard. Nobody knew what task the ships had been sent out to complete.

Llian and her priests sat in a rowboat, but Illidan did not board.

“I’ll probably tip it over,” he joked before they took off. He received a faint smile from the queen and watched them depart before sitting in the sand against a tree.

Back on the rowboat, all were silent for the duration of the trip. It was a slow one, about ten minutes to the first boat. When they arrived at the outer bow of one of the ships, the fairy rowing anchored down the smaller one, helped the three other women up the rope ladder, and then followed them up.

The ship was rather small, and very empty and very quiet. Not a soul was seen or sensed on board. It was tidy and well taken care of, raising the queen’s hope of better plunder.

“Maybe we should’ve brought a search team,” she reflected. But then she simply shrugged and made her way to the captain’s quarters. It was easy enough to find: a door beneath the wheel with a large Alliance crest on the front. No other doors were like it, and the ship only had one captain.

It looked just as Llian had expected it to look when she opened the door. It was the captain’s quarters. A window on the wall let in natural light (if there was any) that would normally illuminate the desk in front of it. It was cluttered with papers and maps, one of which had a freshly drawn X on it right about where the island was located. Llian quickly rolled it up and gave it to a priestess. There were other various cartography tools and books, none of which interested Llian.

Except one.

It wasn’t on the desk, and Llian only happened to see it out of the corner of her eye. The end of the binding poked out from beneath the pillow of the captain’s bed, and when she pulled it free, she gave it a wide smile.

In her hands, was a book that matched the black leather one in the library, the one the historians had found that talked of the Star Crowns. It had the same twelve-star constellation on the front in silver, but in the center of the pattern was a tall winged beast that Llian had never seen before. She took the liberty of keeping the book on her person, then turned to leave the ship.

“Take me back to shore. I will give demands on what to do with the rest of the ships. I have what I want.”

The other three bowed to their queen and made their way to the ship’s edge. The rower descended the ladder first, followed by the queen and then her priestesses. He rowed them back to shore and helped them out of the boat.

Illidan observed as the queen returned and stepped out with the help of the rower. She hailed a couple of rogues and gave them some instructions, then sent them off to raid the ships. She glanced in his direction and smirked. After speaking to a few other fae, she sauntered up to where he was sitting.

“Did you find anything good?” he asked her, getting to his feet and brushing the sand from his pants.

“I did,” she answered. She led him and her priestesses to their mounts and rode back off into the trees.

They reached the stables in good time. Llian led the demon from there to the palace, but after walking through the doors, dismissed her priestesses and followed Illidan to his room. He didn’t question her motives.

The demon stopped before the door without opening it.

“You followed me,” he addressed the queen.

“I did.”

“Will you be returning to your own room?”

“Do you want me to?”

Illidan was quick to answer her inquiry. “No.”

She sneered and followed him in, letting him close the door behind them and help her out of her clothes. She spent the night with him, riding him all throughout the night, then fell into a deep sleep next to his heaving form.


	9. The Complete Ritual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Another early chapter! That way, the Friday night update can start off with hot smut! Enjoy!

It wasn’t until late the next evening that Llian turned in the book she found on the ship. She didn’t wake until well after lunch, when her handmaidens barged into Illidan’s room with several guards leading them. Both occupants in the bed were startled awake, facing the search party that had spent the better part of their day frantically trying to locate the queen’s. Her maidens apologized profusely, and having realized their mistake, shooed the guards out the door and closed it behind them.

“I’m sorry, my lady, but we really didn’t know where you were,” squeaked out the smaller maiden.

“I’m honestly surprised that this wasn’t the first place you checked,” Llian retorted, sliding out of the bed with a sheet clutched to her chest. It was just Illidan and her maidens, but she didn’t want to chance anymore intruder’s bursting into the room. She collected her gown from the floor and flung it onto a nearby chair. “I appreciate your worry,” she said subsequentially. “I know you’re only looking after your queen. Now,” she changed the subject, “please bring something here for me to wear. I have some things to discuss with my historians.” The last part was more directed at the demon, still sitting in the bed. “Something simple, please. This isn’t a formal meeting.” The maidens knelt their heads and left the room to complete their task. Meanwhile, Llian returned to the bed and slipped back in beneath the rest of the covers with him.

“You’re welcome to accompany me. If you want,” she told him. “Maybe you’ll find some ancient fel texts in the library that interest you.”

Illidan let out a deep chuckle. “You couldn’t possibly have anything like that.”

“There are a lot of things to read in our library. It contains a most extensive collection in a variety of different topics. You won’t know what we have until you look.”

He supposed she was right, and at the very least, it gave him an excuse to spend more time with her. He wondered if that was her excuse, too, but refused to admit it. Nothing to worry himself about now. He was just happy to be in a room with her.

The maidens returned, this time with only one outfit. It was indeed simple, but also more revealing than the other gowns and suits that she wore. It consisted of a wrap-around top of white cloth, which served to only cover her bust and leaving her shoulders and midriff exposed. The bottom was made of the same colorless fabric, a bikini bottom with long, thick strips of fabric that waterfalled down to the floor in torrents. Accompanying the getup was a set of golden jewelry: a chain for her waist, a necklace with a Siren’s Lily, several small rings for her ears, arm bands, rings, bracelets, and golden links for her thighs and ankles. The adornment was completed with a simple golden diadem to crown the queen’s head.

“You took this a bit over the top,” Llian commented, looking at the clothing set out before her.

“I’m interested to see what it looks like.”

Llian turned on her heel to look back at the demon, giving him an icy look after he gave his input. Then she sighed and surrendered, allowing her maidens to dress her up. To Illidan, it was his evening entertainment.

The maidens finished and took a step back to admire their work.

“You look marvelous, my queen,” they told her in unison. Illidan said nothing.

“Thank you. You’re dismissed.” She waited until she was alone again with the demon before addressing him, snapping him out of his stupor. “Ready?”

He wasted no time leaping to his feet and following the queen to the library. When he first laid eyes on it, he had to stop to look around and its grandeur. Llian smiled and left him to take it all in, leaving him at the door and approaching her historians, which were exactly where she’d left them.

“Good evening, gentlemen.” They bowed in response and stepped aside. Before abandoning Illidan’s room, she took the book from the inner pockets of her gown from yesterday, which she now presented to the scholars. They looked down at it after she placed it on the table, quiet as they stared at it in awe.

“Where did you find this, my lady?” one of the old fae asked.

“I was taken out to one of the trespassing Alliance ships. This was in the captain’s room, hidden beneath his pillow.”

The man that asked the question opened the tome and flipped through its old, worn pages. He stopped on an impressive page that stuck out from the others, scanning its surface and interpreting in his head the combination of letters printed there. Llian waited ever so patiently for him to decipher the text, but her heart raced with eagerness to hear what it said.

He flipped through some more pages, read some more lines, studied a few charts, then finally spoke to the group.

“This is the book we were missing. My queen, you have been graced with immense luck. It was very fortunate that the Alliance captain was intercepted when he was.”

“He’s dead now,” the queen said blatantly.

“Yes, my queen, as was the consequence for his poor decisions.”

“What does it say?” Llian demanded, her tone firm and sharp with impatience.

“Ah, yes. This book is not one of history like its sibling. It’s a spellbook.”

The breaths of everyone at the table caught in the throats of their owners. Illidan had finally moved on from the library doors to browse the walls of books. He managed to find something related to fel magic, as well as a history of demons, and sat to read nearby the queen. Most importantly, he was able to eavesdrop from where he was, and his ears perked up at the sudden silence.

“Is this the book we needed?” Llian whispered.

“It is, indeed, my queen. This book contains both spells to obtain the Star Crowns, as well as an extensive explanation of how to use The Twelve.”

None of this made any sense to the demon, but he kept listening anyways.

“Is it even something that’s possible for us to carry out?”

The scholar searched the spell in question before giving his answer. “It seems that the materials required a simple enough. A king and a queen, of course. But the one who needs to do the actual extraction of the crowns is a virgin, pure of heart.”

Llian rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Of course. A virgin. Why does it always have to be a virgin?” Her comment made Illidan chuckle.

“My queen, you have quite the assemblage of virgins at your disposal. But this would be a spell of such a caliber, that only one of the white priestesses would be able to complete it. And even then, it would take a lot of time and effort to train one of them in such arcana.”

To this, Llian turned to the demon sitting to the side. “What say you, Demon Lord?”

Illidan wasn’t sure what she was asking him. “About what?”

“Sargeras. If you had to put an exact time period on how long we have before he comes to destroy the planet – if that’s still his intention at all – how much time would that be?”

He gave the question some thought. “Although he was able to defeat me and pass by me to leave Argus, he was weak after our fight. He would need a lot of time to recover his power enough to use it for such destruction. Maybe…a year?”

He sounded unsure of his answer, which did not please the queen. But no one had a better or more precise answer, so that’s what they were going to have to go off of.

“Then it’s settled. I will send you both priestesses. I want you to translate both texts, and then teach them how to do the spell. I also want copies of both books after they’ve been translated. I need to be able to know how to use the crown after it’s on my head.”

The queen left the group once she’d finished dealing out her commands and then motioned to stand next to Illidan. He hastily closed the book he was pretending to read and stood up.

“You would make a terrible spy,” the woman commented. Illidan averted his gaze.

“These crowns,” he finally began, “tell me more about them.” He was interested in the topic, what little he gathered from the short conversation that played out before him, and he wanted to know everything he could. Not necessarily because he was interested in the queen’s reasons for wanting these mysterious crowns. More for his own personal gain. They said she needed a king, and as far as he knew, she was unwed at the moment.

“I would love to delve more into the topic. Maybe over dinner?”

“Do all fae eat souls?”

Llian laughed. “No, just Sirens. But I do also enjoy eating solid food every now and again. I get most excited when I get to try foods from other places. Novelty foods and such.”

“Please tell me you’ve eaten food from the Outlands.”

The queen cocked her head. “I haven’t. Are you recommending it?”

“I’m recommending we eat something from the island.”

“Note taken.” The two shared a laugh and exited the library, Illidan following close behind the queen.

“You have a dining hall?” he questioned.

“I do, but it’s much too large for the two of us. It’s more for when I’m hosting large groups of people. For one or two guests, I have a plethora of other rooms that are suitable.”

The one she chose for this small gathering was a lounge on the west side of the palace. It had several couches and sofas that stood low to the floor, as well as cushions and pillows scattered about. There was one table in front of the largest sofa, upon which was placed a jade and gold water pipe. To the left was a door with arching windows which opened onto a balcony. It gave the same view as most of the windows in the palace, with an added waterfall in the distance. There were a couple of iron chairs outside, but on inside the room right on the other side of the doorway was a small table and two chairs. The room’s color scheme reflected the flora of the island: dark shades of cool colors with glowing freckles everywhere. The only light came from candles lit with blue flames hung along the walls.

Llian entered first, followed by Illidan, who once again had to pause to take in the scene.

“Do you ever eat on a sofa?”

The queen’s question pulled the other from his trance, and he looked at her in confusion.

“Why would I?”

He watched the queen cross the room and sit on the couch with the pipe, the only sound being her feet padding across the wooden floor. He waited for her to take a seat, then joined her. The wood of the furniture creaked slightly under the weight of the demon, which made the queen’s eyes widen slightly.

“I’m big. I can’t help it,” came his excuse. He looked around then back at Llian. “I assume you’re going to tell me what that is.” He nodded towards the water pipe.

“A couple of my spies brought it back from Panderia. It’s a water pipe, or hookah. Not native of the country, but the design is unmistakably theirs.”

“Do you have a lot of spies?”

“Maybe. Why would I tell you?”

Silence from the demon. A chuckle from the queen followed.

“They are the only people outside of my race that I employ. I need outside forces to stay informed.”

“From where do they hail?”

Llian’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. I don’t know where night elves come from.”

Of all the things the queen should know, it was where her people came from. And although the spies weren’t fae, they were still “her people”. She knew that information was somewhere, and she recalled being told it before, but it was so low on her radar of importance that she must’ve forgotten.

Her face was calm. Illidan’s, however, was not.

“ _Night elves?!_ ”

He was interrupted by the door to the lounge opening. In walked three people. The first introduced himself as Shen, a tall fairy, much taller than the queen, with dark blue skin. He was not decorated with any glowing dots or paint, and his hair was cleanly combed back behind his pointed ears. He bowed to the queen and presented the food, which was carted in by a second, less important looking individual. He kept his eyes down on the floor as he wheeled the food up to the couple, deeply bowing as he backed out of the room. The third fairy moved to light two coals for the pipe, not saying a word as he carried out his task.

The dish was direhorse steaks, seasoned to perfection and cooked to leave them soaking in a pool of red juices. To the side were different combinations of cooked vegetables and fruits that were left alone for the most part. They didn’t need a lot of herbs since their flavors were naturally enhanced when cooked. The two remaining fae took their time making sure the queen and her guest were comfortable, but to her, they couldn’t be moving any slower.

“Thank you, Shen, that will be enough,” the queen interrupted as he was giving a spiel about the dish. His cheeks flushed red as he nodded and left after the common, “Yes, my queen”. The fair woman sighed and shook her head.

“I can’t tell if they do that so they can stand around longer and not have to work.”

Illidan had begun to shove meat into his mouth before the queen even began to speak. “Maybe they want to be in your presence,” he answered between bites.

Llian watched the other shovel food into his mouth with great interest. Without looking away, she grabbed a hose from the pipe and took a few slow drags, breathing out thick clouds of white smoke in his direction. It caused him to glance over at her.

“You’ve never seen a water pipe before?”

Illidan swallowed. “No.”

The queen leaned forward and stuck the hose gently into his mouth. “Inhale.” The other did as he was commanded, both when he was told to inhale and again when told to exhale. He coughed halfway through the out-breath, puffs of smoke hitting the queen’s face. She grimaced and laughed.

“You’ll get the hang of it.”

She let him eat in silence for a bit longer, not once touching her own food. She was distracted by the robust male before her. Every move he made provoked her heart to skip many beats, from the flexing of his arm muscles when he lifted his hand to eat, to the motions his jaw made as he chewed. Her constant staring drew his attention.

“Is something wrong?”

The queen shook her head. “No. I just like watching you eat.”

He didn’t argue with her. It made him feel a bit weird, but upon looking into her large, amethyst eyes, all of those feelings melted away.

When he finally finished his food, he sat back in the couch.

“There was something I wanted to ask you…” he began.

“Is it about the crowns?”

“Yes, but…first tell me about them.”

Llian took another hit from the pipe before replying. “They are two crowns: The Crown of Twelve Stars and the Crown of Seven. Together, they can grant someone the entire power of the universe.”

“That is a considerable amount of power.”

“Yes, but in order for that power to be granted, the Crowns must be set upon the heads of a king and a queen.”

“Who gets the power?”

“The wearer of the Twelve.”

Illidan stopped. If this is what the queen was after, she would be the one to wear the Twelve. And the thought of who might be the one to wear the Seven drove him mad.

“You said you had a question?”

The demon snapped out of his thoughts. “Ah, yes.”

She waited patiently for the answer but decided to prompt him again when it didn’t come.

“What is it?”

“Oh! Well, I was just curious, since you need a king to wear the second crown…” His sentence trailed off as he fought to find the right words.

“You want to know who that king will be?”

How she could hear his thoughts was beyond him. But she was right, and he nodded back.

“As of right now, I’m not sure. I just learned about these crowns.”

“But you have no king.”

“That’s true. No man has ever proven himself worthy enough to be my king.”

Another pause before the next question came. “Have you put any more thought into that since you found out about the Crowns?”

Llian smiled. “I have.”

She could sense his eagerness to know who she favored as king. The desire to know shone bright in his eyes. She decided to tease him a bit.

“But, the news of these artifacts is so recent, that I couldn’t possibly know for sure if I‘m right in my judgment,” she told the other, making his brow furrow in frustration.

“I won’t lie to you, Illidan. I don’t think it was any coincidence that you found me when you did, nor that the book was on the ship. It was only a couple of months ago that my scholars revealed their initial discovery to me. I believe I was meant to find the second one, having looked upon the first. I believe the universe is saying this is fate.”

“Will the universe name your king?” As he said this, he inched closer to the fairy next to him.

Llian chuckled, taking a notice to how much closer the demon had gotten to her. He was completely oblivious to it. “No. I will name my king. In time, my demon.”

“And what of tonight?”

“What of it?”

“What does the universe say?”

“I’m not sure. It’s only just begun.”

“Is it possible that the universe says it’s another night of passion?”

The queen smiled, dropping the hose to invite Illidan over.

“It might see it that way.”


	10. A Reunion of Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains explicit sexual content.

The night had continued on with a considerable amount of lovemaking that only paused to scare away any returning servants. Only once did the queen resort to using fae magic when Shen returned to check on them for a second time (after he’d already been there once to feed them). He was becoming one of Llian’s least favorites the more she saw him. Illidan watched his lover flare up at the thin man, the glow of her eyes increasing in brightness as he shrunk back in horror watching his queen get closer. Even the demon could feel the sheer amount of heat that radiated from within this little dainty creature. It didn’t help with his raging erection.

“ _Get out of this room, or I will purge you myself.”_ Her voice echoed throughout the minds of all who were present, adding to the terror of her fury. Shen took no time scampering away, lest he discover the limits of her patience.

And things just picked up where they were left after that. No more interruptions came, allowing the couple to carry on with their coitus. It lingered on the couch for quite some time before being relocated to the inside table. Moving their activities around was all the control Illidan was permitted to have; any attempt to mount the queen was quickly thwarted. She would slap him or move out of his way, giving him a sharp hiss to remind him of his place.

“Let me please you,” he growled in her ear at one point.

“You will do as you’re told,” came the reply.

Every time the demon attempted to remove the white cloth from Llian’s hips, he was met with even more resistance. It would cause his cock to twitch inside of her, and the sudden movement made her clench around the length she consumed. It drove him mad. Black claws dug deeper and deeper into pale flesh, and small amounts of blood trickled against her thighs. Llian let out a painful yelp, but yet she continued to ride like a champ, pressing her mouth to Illidan’s and biting hard onto the flesh.

At this point, the queen could sense her adherent beginning to reach his end point, and she was quick to coil her slender fingers around his neck.

“ _Don’t you dare_ ,” she warned.

Illidan had never encountered someone like this. In the Outlands, he was always the one to give orders and do all of the work. If he wasn’t topping another, he was forcing them to bounce on his lap, guiding them and controlling their force all the way through. This was a lot different. This was the first time that he wasn’t allowed to do _anything_ he wanted, and he was afraid it would drive him insane. For a moment, he thought he would just defy her and cum anyways, but then he remembered how angry she got at Shen just for showing up too many times. A trickle of sweat pulled the demon from his thoughts and back to the woman on top of him, who was grinning down while she fucked. The smile soon evolved into laughter when Illidan’s face further screwed up in visible frustration. Then, finally, she stopped and backed off, consuming all of the other’s attention as she removed a hidden dagger from beneath the center table.

Most of the workout had been done with the skirts pulled up, which as all well and good, but the demon quite enjoyed the little show. She cut down the front of the bust wraps with the knife, letting them fall to the floor in shreds. The shirts were easy enough to get off as well; the bikini piece was fastened with golden ringlets that could be quickly unclipped for removal. It, too, plummeted to the ground with its perished friend. All that remained was the jewelry that adorned her body. It glimmered in the candlelight, mimicking the look of the bright freckles that dotted the fae’s bodies.

Great wings extended as Llian was welcomed back to Illidan’s lap after that, moving their endeavors to the floor. Keeping his knees bent, he grunted and moaned while the smaller being circulated her hips over him, jumping between teasing the tip of his cock and taking in the whole organ to the hilt. After a substantial volume of time had passed of the demon struggling not to explode, the fairy grabbed hold of both of his horns to suspend herself. Now she was using pure arm strength, giving her a new burst of endurance to fuck with. But it was too much for her conquest. Llian’s grinding drove him to climax. He let out a deep hum, watching her continued movements as he was pushed over the edge. Burning green eyes followed the flowing pattern of the flat stomach in front of him, rolling inches from his starving lips. Llian echoed his song, enjoying being filled with the warmth of the demon.

Some time had passed before they separated, allowing the couple to come down from their sexual highs. The demon wrapped his arms around the queen and pulled her chest into his face. All he wanted to do was get her body as close to his as possible. Careful not to crush her, he quickly squeezed her, his muscles bulging up a bit (much to Llian’s amusement).

“My, my,” the queen cooed, “looks like this little fairy sucked the life right out of you.”

Now the nightish day was over, but the couple snoozed on floor, undisturbed as the moon sluggishly crept across the night sky. It was the queen who was first to waken, lifting herself from her lover’s heaving chest. Surprisingly, he slept very quietly for such a large man. Amethyst orbs studied the shining green tattoos upon his naked form that marked his class: Demon Hunter. She began to wonder if he was still even proud of that title. _Demon Hunter_. The man was a demon, and he rose an army to defeat his own kind. And lost. One of so many tasks that he was unable to complete. And he wasn’t even able to shake the nickname, “Betrayer”. Llian hated it. The feel of the word stung. He wasn’t a Betrayer. His intentions were just and loyal. He just had very poor execution.

Illidan kept snoozing on. Llian didn’t want to interrupt him, so she very quietly got to her feet and went to gather up her clothes. But she had completely forgotten about tearing the top wraps to get them off.

_Fuck…_

Suddenly, the doors to the lounge opened inward, revealing General Strands and the queen’s red priestesses in the archway. They also opened up to expose the queen.

“My queen, you-.”

Strands stopped her stride, not even having to tell the priestesses to immediately close the doors. They clanged shut, startling Illidan from his dreams.

“What the-.”

“I’m so sorry to have disturbed you, but there’s a visitor in the palace, my queen.”

“You barged in for a single visitor?” Llian was furious.

“Yes, but I think you’re going to want to see this one, my queen.”

“Who is it?”

“I really think you should come see for yourself-.”

“Tell your queen who it is?!” The small woman’s voice was beginning to increase in volume, causing the other to shrink back a little.

“Please, my queen, I’m begging you.” The general sent a look in Illidan’s direction. “He’ll want to see this, too.”

This silenced the queen. There were a plethora of people that Illidan would want to see, and none of them were even close to individuals that she wanted in her throne room. But it sounded urgent, so she had no choice but to concede.

“Fine. Bring me my gold armor. The one with the skulls.”

Strands waited for the fae in red to depart on their task.

“What does this visitor want?” asked the queen.

“He didn’t say, my lady,” came the answer. To which Llian rolled her eyes.

“Did you recognize this person?”

“Yes, my queen.”

The group remained silent until the armor was brought back to the room. Illidan dressed himself while Llian was fitted into the suit, marveling at its glittering mass. He especially liked the touches of rubies to look like blood. And the skulls. He really liked the skulls.

“Are you ready, my lady?”

“With what little information you’ve provided me with? No. But I have no choice at this point.”

The three lesser fae led their queen and her partner to the throne room, which consisted of only the priestesses and the other three generals. Everyone took their places – the queen on her throne, Illidan standing to her right, the priestesses bowing at the edges of the walkway leading up to the royal seat, and the four generals standing shoulder to shoulder behind the priestesses to the left. The only thing missing from the core group were the white priestesses; they were currently hard at work learning the processes and spells for the coronation. Everyone waited as the room began to fill with the queen’s court, the only sound being the shuffling of feet and robes as the rest filed in. The room was heavy with reticence, and not a soul could be heard breathing.

The only one to break the stillness was General Strands, and only because she had recently been in the queen’s presence.

“My queen, I stand before you to announce the arrival of…” Strands caught herself before she said, “the Betrayer”. “The demon hunter’s brother, Malfurion Stormrage.”

The blood boiled hot inside of the small figure on the throne, but she remained calm and collected as she watched the one named placidly made his way down the aisle, flanked by two fae guards in silver plate armor. The druid wore what Llian had seen him wearing in every painting that depicted him. Feathers. Lots and lots of feathers. It was honestly very tacky, according to Llian, but she kept her opinions to herself.

The guards stopped the druid when he reached the red priestesses, now standing on either side to block his way if things got out of hand.

“Brother-,” Malfurion began.

“Do not speak,” was the matriarch’s snap in return. “You were not invited here. You will tell me immediately how you found this island and why you dared to land on its beaches.”

There was no response from the interrogee. The answers only came when a fae knight gave him a slight shove.

“The queen has asked you a question. You must answer her.”

Still nothing. Llian was getting tired of this very quickly, but luckily for the night elf, he spoke up before she could throw him out of the palace.

“I have spies of my own, my lady.”

Now he had her attention. Rage began to envelope the queen as the image of her own two night elf spies appeared in her mind. This is how they were able to get the information about Illidan’s disappearance from his brother. They were working for him, not her.

The queen made a mental note about this realization before repeating her second question.

“Why are you here?”

“I came to see my brother. Why else would I be here?”

“Don’t talk back to me.”

Illidan stood wordlessly as the conversation took place. Listening to this tiny being snap at his brother brewed a small amount of bitterness within, but he knew better than to gamble with telling her to calm down. All he did was continue to stand starkly, letting the queen continue questioning.

“May I please speak freely to Illidan?”

Demonic eyes switched from the ether to the druid. The entire court waited for the siren’s answer.

“You may.”

There was another moment of quiet that passed.

“Why didn’t you come home?”

The demon didn’t like the question his brother was asking. A lot had happened on Argus that left him in a state of confusion and extreme exhaustion. In his mind, he knew that his brother wouldn’t accept this as an answer and demand he come up with a better one. The answer was simply that he didn’t know.

With a small amount of bravery mustered up, Illidan shamefully gave his answer.

“I… I don’t know.”

Just as he’d predicted, Malfurion was not happy with this response.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You chose to come here, didn’t you? Why here?”

“I didn’t choose!” Illidan roared back at his brother, causing a look of pain and sadness wash over his ancient elven features. The demon looked away with guilt, ending the conversation between them immediately. This allowed Llian to take over.

“I don’t believe your brother is very comfortable with your line of questioning, and frankly, neither am I-.”

“My brother can speak for himself.”

“Do not interrupt!” the queen warned. “If you want to continue talking with him in this room, you’ll need to change up your line of questioning. Otherwise,” here, she glanced over at Illidan, “you’ll need to do it somewhere else and not on my time.”

The druid frowned, but didn’t continue to debate with her. He had more respect than that. This woman may be foreign and unknown to him, but she was the queen of this island, and she hadn’t given him a reason to be alarmed, but the day wasn’t over yet.

Malfurion looked over his brother. The demon had many fresh scars on him, so he had clearly been heavily injured in his battle with Sargereas. However, they were all healed for the most part. All that was left of them was tissue. This fact made the druid feel much better about the safety of his brother; whoever this woman was, she was taking care of him.

There was a moment of stillness before Malfurion spoke again.

“I suppose I will have to wait, then. There is much I would like to discuss with my brother, and I wouldn’t want to waste anymore of your time.” He paused for only a second before adding, “my lady”. This response looked to please her, especially after she gave him a curt nod.

“Thank you. There are plenty of places here in my palace and in the capital that will suffice for catching up, privately or otherwise.” After the short welcome to her island, Llian stood from her throne and faced the demon to her right. “I’ll leave you to it.” Then, she departed, leaving Illidan behind with Malfurion while the room began to clear out. Outside of the throne room, after the doors had been shut, the fairy stopped her red priestesses.

“Follow them,” she commanded. “I want to make sure we can trust that wretched druid.”


	11. The Walls Have Ears

No one led the twins around the capital. It wasn’t necessary since Illidan had been there for some time now. He’d been seen in the marketplace from time to time and around the palace, as well as back on shore, hunting animals in the woods, and once getting lost some miles north of the mountain. A small community of fae found him wandering about and hastily returned him to the palace. He was telling his brother about this on the way to a secluded area of the queen’s home where they could converse in private. The tale got a small chuckle from the druid as they entered a round marble hall with pillars lining the center in the same fashion. There were many other exits, all archways that led off to different parts of the main manor. It was fairly lit by white flamed candles along the walls, and all of the exiting hallways gave off a similar peace. Aside from Illidan and Malfurion, the room was empty and quiet.

The demon stopped between two pillars, but the other walked into the center.

“It’s been awhile, Illidan,” the druid stated.

“I know.”

“Tell me, brother, what happened on Argus?”

Demonic brows furrowed at the question. “You’re quick to the point,” the larger man commented, before beginning his tale.

“Everything was going exactly as it should. I don’t know where he got the mana, but he had it and he used it. Sargeras overpowered me and escaped. Luckily, he didn’t have _enough_ power to end me, but it was still a lot to take. I managed to pull up a pathetic little portal, but I didn’t focus it in any particular place. I just needed off of that wretched place. It brought me to this island.”

Malfurion listened intently. “It sounds like you were meant to be brought here.”

“Don’t preach your druids beliefs to me.”

“How could a portal have possibly brought you anywhere if you didn’t direct it? Surely, you can see that there is something bigger here at play.”

“I said stop-.”

A hand rested on the demon’s broad shoulder. Without even knowing, Malfurion had crossed the distance between them.

“This place is filled with an intense magic. I know you can sense it. There is so much to learn here. Maybe you’ll learn why the portal brought you here.”

Illidan shrugged the hand off. “I think you’re looking too much into this. Portals can go anywhere. Many mages have been able to summon doors to random places. This isn’t new.”

“I know that, but they’re all aware of the random places they go. You had no idea this island existed, and from the sounds of it, no one else does, either.”

Green demonic eyes glanced over at the druid.

“Why didn’t you come home, Illidan?”

The hunter didn’t want to admit why he stayed. Not because he didn’t know, but because there were so many reasons why he stayed, all of which would be cause for his brother to worry. There was one main reason why, though, and he hesitated to even think about it.

“You stayed for her, didn’t you?”

“Don’t assume anything about me,” Illidan snarled.

His brother frowned. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, brother. You’re going to fail here just like you did with Tyrande.”

“I don’t want to hear this!” Illidan snarled, getting into his brother’s face. “Did you come here just to try and ruin something else for me? This is why I didn’t come home. I found somewhere better. Somewhere where I’m not shunned away as a ‘Betrayer’.”

“She has you fooled! You’re under this witch’s spell! She doesn’t care about you!”

“You don’t know that!” the demon argued back. “You don’t know anything! You just got here!”

“So did you.”

This caught Illidan off guard. It had been only three months, almost four, but that still wasn’t enough time to know everything about the queen.

“She’s using you, Illidan.”

There was silence from the demon, but he wasn’t ready to admit that’s what Llian was doing. She had shown him so much kindness, and they’d been intimate thrice already. She must’ve felt something towards him. He thought about his time there, and about the crowns that Llian was after. And then the thought of her “gift” crossed his mind. Was she really trying to use him? Did she not care at all?

Illidan shook the thoughts from his head. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t be doing so much for him. Whatever power she was after, he was more than willing to help her get it.

“I don’t care.”

Malfurion sighed heavily. He was losing his brother again, and to another woman. He thought back to their younger years together, and how Illidan had trained so hard in sorcery to try and win Tyrande’s heart, but even the druid could see that it was all in vain. She had already made her decision. Now Illidan was being pampered by another woman, and he looked to be doing the same thing with this one. Catering to her every command and doing as he was told in hope to win her over. Except this time, there wasn’t any competition, at least not that he saw. She appeared to have no king.

“You will only be heartbroken again, brother.” Illidan didn’t listen to the druid speaking. He didn’t believe him, but he kept talking. “Come back home. You will be welcome with open arms.”

“I won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do! I know the Kaldorei won’t accept me! And I only have you to blame for that!”

“Why blame me, brother?”

“You’re the one who branded me a Betrayer!”

“And what do they call you here?”

To this, Illidan sized up his brother immensely and glowered down at him.

“They will call me king.”

This was enough to make the druid silently panic. It was too late. The demon hunter had fallen victim yet again to the lust for another woman. She had already promised him so much that it was too hard for him to give it all up.

“What did she promise you?” the druid asked.

“That’s none of your concern,” came his brother’s growl.

“She’s obviously promised you the throne!”

“She…she hasn’t.”

“You don’t even know for sure! What if she finds someone else, someone she finds better suited? Someone of her own race?”

“She won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I just… do!”

This was going nowhere, and Malfurion was beginning to believe that he would be leaving without his brother. Again.

“You need to leave.”

The command shocked Malfurion, but he didn’t argue. It was too late for the demon, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Illidan was too comfortable with his life. Maybe he could come back at a later date and try to get him to come home. Maybe… For now, Malfurion just hung his head and did as he was told. He stopped at the archway and looked over his shoulder. “Please think about coming back. It would be better for you.” And then he left.

Illidan didn’t move from where he was standing. He stayed back in thought, wondering if his brother was right. No. His brother didn’t know anything. For as long as he could remember, Malfurion had always tried to control him without once stopping to ask him what he wanted.

Out of the corner of his eye, Illidan saw a flash of red, which disappeared when he turned to look. Not a sound could be heard as his eyes scanned the room, but there was no one else there. Not that he could see. He straightened up and flexed his wings before speaking out.

“I know you’re there.”

After he spoke, the two red priestesses that had been eavesdropping emerged from behind pillars, one of which had been clinging to the ceiling and was currently scampering down the walls.

“She sent you to listen?”

“It is true; our queen commanded us to spy on you,” replied one of the red fae. The demon exhaled heavily, but a small smirk could be seen on his face.

“I guess we can’t tell her no.”

“She will be pleased with our report,” the other woman assured.

“That’s good to hear.” The demon turned to leave, and the two women followed behind him. “Where is she now?”

There was silence from the women before one of them answered.

“We aren’t sure. Try the bedroom?”

It was cute, how innocent they seemed. Just like their queen, and if they were similar to her in other ways, he was certain it was how dangerous they could prospectively be.


	12. "Bring Me His Eyes"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early chapter for the fans!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains attempted rape; blood, gore, death, murder

Illidan didn’t tell the queen about his knowledge of being spied on. It was probably best to keep that secret, lest she become angry with the two women and punish them. The monarch had already proven that she liked to go over the top with those things. They continued to follow him from the hall where the meeting with his brother took place, flanking him all the way to the throne room. He stopped at the doors, which had been left ajar, when he heard the voice of the queen echoing around the room and through the large dark oaks.

“It has come to my attention that your loyalties lie elsewhere,” the demon could hear Llian saying to an unknown being.

“My queen, we only serve you,” came the reply of a male.

“Let me make this very clear.” Her voice became much sterner. “I am going to ask you again, and if you continue to lie to me, the consequences will be fatal.”

“We swear it, my queen. We have only served you,” came another answer, this time, from a woman.

Illidan peered around the corner to see the queen standing in front of her throne, not a priestess in sight, with her two night elf spies standing before her. This wasn’t going to be good. He entered the hall and walked up to stand beside his queen, stopping to lean in and whisper something to her before taking his place. She didn’t say anything for a moment, then inquired something just as softly back to him. He gave her an answer, and she seemed pleased with it. Returning to her previous conversation, she glowered down at the elves and scowled.

“Tell me again who you received the information about Illidan from? Initially. Before he came to the palace.” Hearing his name being said so firmly made the hunter’s skin crawl; he was used to her speaking it so gently and calm.

The elves exchanged a glance. “From his brother, Malfurion.”

“And how is it that you were able to get such sensitive information from the druid himself?”

“We’re… really good spies,” said the man, but he immediately regretted the answer. The amethyst eyes set on the queen’s face began to sparkle and crack, and the room started to heat up as her anger swelled.

“No. Not once did I receive a single report from the two of you detailing any encounter with the druid, other than that one. Not once did either of you at the very least let me in on the plans you were making to gain such a high-ranking source. To earn his trust would have taken years to get, and the first I’m hearing of it is four months ago?”

Llian wasn’t happy. Illidan dared to look over in her direction, his gaze falling upon her furious form. He couldn’t tell if it was real or not, but he thought he could see a small amount of steam rising from her shoulders. He blinked rapidly to see if it was just an illusion, but before he could check, the male elf was speaking again.

“Your majesty, if I may speak freely?”

Llian’s glowing eyes snapped in the man’s direction again. “You had better tell me the truth or I swear it, I will kill you where you stand.”

The elf gulped, and then said something that shocked even the large demon.

“I know for a fact that Elliah was working directly for Malfurion. She told me not to say anything before, but I cannot stand and let her lie to you any longer.”

It was hard to read the queen’s face. It wasn’t disbelief. Certainly not anger anymore. Maybe a little dumbfounded? The demon didn’t speak; he waited almost eagerly to see what the little fairy would do next.

The female elf, however, looked back at her comrade in horror, which made Illidan assume she was Elliah. And her fellow night elf had ratted her out to the queen without skipping a beat.

“My queen, he’s lying!” the woman shouted back, hoping it was enough of a defense to keep her alive. “Going to Malfurion was his idea!”

The man opened his mouth to fight back, but Llian stopped him before he could, holding up her hand to interrupt him. She wanted to hear more from Elliah.

“Go on,” said the queen.

“My lady, we’ve been in contact with the demon’s brother for some years now, just like you said. But I was under the impression you knew about it. Castra said he was keeping you updated.”

“I can assure you he was doing no such thing.”

“I know that now.” Elliah looked over at the other elf. “If anyone’s been working directly for the druid, it’s him.”

“You can’t prove it!” Castra cried back.

“Maybe not, but you told me you’d been in contact with Malfurion before the first time we even went together!” Elliah turned to the queen. “He was still going back to see the druid, my lady. The entire time he’s been working for you!”

“And you, Elliah?” asked Llian. “I found you lost on my island’s beaches, weak and torn asunder by the rough waves. There was a storm that night, and you never woke, because the sun never rose.”

“As is customary for the island,” added the other woman.

“Precisely. I brought you into my home, let you eat at my table. We talked like best friends that night. I knew you had been through so much. You told me that a small group of your own people had betrayed you, and that you wished to serve me. I welcomed you as a spy for my kingdom.”

“And that’s what I did!”

“Have you also been going back to see the druid?”

“No!”

The queen turned her attention back to Castra. “Your story, however, is slightly different. You came to me before Elliah, on a Horde ship. You were their prisoner. I freed you and asked you to side with me.”

“You told me if I didn’t, I would die!” Castra yelled back.

“This is true. I didn’t want to risk you running off and telling everyone the location of this island. But the tasks I gave you allowed you to leave the island. It appears this was a grave mistake on my part.”

After having talked with the two elves for some time, Llian had decided who was now telling the truth and who was still lying to her.

“I don’t know who the two of you truly serve, but it is no longer me. You are both dismissed. I don’t care where you go, but rest assured, if I wake up to discover a mass of Alliance ships at my doorstep, I will know who it was that brought them here, and the both of you will find yourselves mere corpses to feed my direwolves with.”

The threat was enough to shut the two elves up, and they turned to leave the throne room. They were about halfway to the doors when the two red priestesses walked in; they stayed behind when the demon went in, thinking it best that the three didn’t show up together. It might raise the queen’s suspicions. They silently glided up to their queen and stood on the other side of the small woman.

Llian then turned to Illidan.

“Go to the gardens, my demon. Trianna will take you.” One of the priestesses stepped forward and waited for Illidan to follow. He looked over at Llian before leaving her. “I will join you in a moment,” the queen assured. “I must speak with Roza.” She smiled warmly at him, all signs of rage having long since left her features. She watched as Illidan was led out of the throne room, waiting until he was well out of earshot to address her priestess in red.

“Follow the elves. Make sure Elliah makes it back safely.”

“Yes, my queen. What of Castra?”

The queen’s brow furrowed, once again reminded of her outrage.

“Bring me his eyes.”

++++

“Why did you lie to her like that?”

Elliah was upset, and she had more than enough reason to be.

“I wasn’t going to go down for this,” Castra replied. “You should’ve kept your mouth shut. There was so much we could’ve gotten from her!”

“Did you even know that Malfurion was there? He was in the castle!”

“Yes, I knew that,” Castra lied.

“You’re a terrible liar! You had no idea!” Elliah stopped walking, letting the other continue a few paces ahead of her. “What if he had been in the throne room with us? He would’ve told the queen the same thing I did!”

“Fuck off, Elliah. He didn’t know we were working for her.”

“Maybe not, but Malfurion wouldn’t stand to let you tarnish me like that.”

Castra stopped and didn’t say a word, then turned and walked back up to the other. When he paused his stride again, he was uncomfortably close to the other elf, and she shrunk back a bit to try and get away from him.

“Elliah, I hate it when you’re right.”

Suddenly, Castra grabbed the other’s arm and yanked her forward, forcing his mouth against hers. She struggled to free herself, but to no avail. Physically, he was much stronger than her, and when she felt his free hand at the back of her head, panic began to rise within her. Before she could say anything, he was pushing her onto her knees.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you what to do.”

Instead of complying, Elliah looked up at the other and snarled.

“Fuck you.”

The standing elf frowned. “If that’s what you really want, sweetheart.”

Now he was forcing her back, making her turn so that she was on her hands and knees. She screamed back at him, begging him to stop, but he wouldn’t. In a quick flash, he had pulled her pants down to her knees and undone the front of his own, and he was about to shove his hardened erection into her ass when he heard a faint rustle behind them. He looked over his shoulder, pausing and waiting to see if he would hear it again.

And he did.

It was coming from a small clump of trees, and it sounded close. Castra fixed up his fly and went to investigate.

For a moment, there was silence and darkness, aside from the sound of the animals that lived in the trees. All other strange sounds had ceased as soon as he’d turned around. He then heard Elliah picking herself back up and turned to face her, but before he could dart off to stop her, he felt something warm at his throat. When he touched his neck, he felt not only the dampness of his blood, but also something sharp. The elf staggered forward, clutching his gushing neck and the sharp object that kept him from bleeding out, but it didn’t matter for long. Soon, the dagger was being yanked out from behind, allowing the crimson fluid to begin flowing out at a horrendous rate. Castra fell to the ground, his head now laying in a growing pool of his own blood.

Elliah watched the entire incident take place. She couldn’t speak, she was so terrified, and she watched in silence as one of the red priestesses stepped out of the trees and into the moonlight.

“Run,” she told the elf, and that’s exactly what Elliah did.

Roza looked down at the corpse by her feet. He was still alive, gurgling and choking on the liquid, but sounds of his death eventually stopped when he ran out of blood. The woman knelt down and turned his head to face the sky, his eyes open but unseeing. Bright yellow eyes which now stared blankly forward. They were no longer being used, giving the priestess a reason to cut them out. Once upon a time, this would have made Roza vomit. Luckily for her, she had trained long enough to become accustomed to seeing such gore and violence, and therefore didn’t have a problem with scooping the orbs out with a small spoon she took from the palace kitchen and cutting the nerves with the dagger.

The woman in red rose to her feet. Using a small amount of mana stored within her, she cast a flame on the deceased elf, and in seconds he was completely engulfed. She watched until the body was nothing but bones and ashes, then departed back for the palace to hand over her plunder to the queen.


	13. Khadgar's Capture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that because I posted an early chapter on Thursday, I forgot to post the Friday chapter. So here it is. Late af. Enjoy.

Illidan had seen nothing more beautiful than the queen’s gardens. It had glass walls that surrounded it, to keep the island’s strange looking rodents out, but there wasn’t a roof either, allowing the climbing and flying fauna to come and go as they pleased. It was a marvelous sight of bright colors and lights, and a small creek being fed by a waterfall at the far end added to the sereneness of the environment. The falls were hidden by a large number of trees that stretched up into the sky, obscuring the stars from view. Any flower that grew in these gardens was some variation of pinks, blues, and purples and had an array of different patterns of their own glowing luminescence. The priestess told him it was all natural, a type of chemical reaction that happened in these living things to make them glow in such a way. It was beautiful. She also explained that they were going to be pollinating soon, and their glowing spores would be released into the air.

“They look like tiny little pixies,” she told the demon.

“Pixies?”

She thought for a moment before clarifying. “Pixies are what people think fairies are supposed to look like. Tiny little creatures with wings that buzz by you and try to play tricks on you.”

“Don’t the fae play tricks, though?”

“We do, but to a much different degree.”

“How so?”

Trianna was intrigued by how interested the demon was in her people’s culture, who they were, and how they functioned. She was more than happy to help teach him what he needed to know. How else was he supposed to quickly win the queen’s favor? The priestess had known for some time what the queen’s intentions were, but she also knew that their matriarch needed more proof of the hunter's loyalty.

“Pixies will fly around you and try to be annoying. They’ll tickle you ear or pull your hair or bite you on the cheek. The fae…”

She wasn’t sure how to explain the trickery of the fae. The only way she could come up with to detail how her people worked was to tell him a story about the queen.

“The fae are usually beings that are summoned to grant wishes, but with a wish comes a price. The queen is very good at this kind of trickery.”

“That didn’t seem to be the trick she was playing the night she picked me up,” Illidan noted.

“No, that’s how she feeds. That's different than trickery.” After Trianna said this, the demon rose a brow.

“She’s used that ability for more than just feeding,” he commented.

“Yes, I know,” the woman snapped back. “Will you hush. Anyways, Llian was once called upon by a poor young human who had lost everything he had in a fire. His entire family, his house, what little land he had… all of it taken by the flames. He called upon Llian and asked for immeasurable wealth. And that’s what she gave him.”

“I don’t understand how that’s a trick,” the demon pointed out.

“The wealth wasn’t tangible. At least, not when she granted the wish. He still had claim to the land, and Llian made that land rich with gold. But there was no way for the man to get to the gold. He had no way to mine it and as far as Llian has told us, it was too deep for him to get to. So even if he had the right technology to mine the gold, it wouldn’t matter, because he wouldn’t be able to seize it. Which also made it hard for him to sell the land later. It wouldn’t grow anything because of the fire, and the gold was too far out of reach.”

Illidan thought intensely about all this. What a story to be told. He had always thought Llian to be swift and cruel to people who were not in her favor. Turned out she was also just as cunning.

“Sharp wit,” the demon commented.

“She’s been around for a long time. Long enough to have figured out what works and what doesn’t. Long enough to know how to manipulate the minds of anyone.”

This stopped the demon. _Manipulate the minds of anyone._ He was starting again to wonder if Malfurion was right. Was Llian really who he thought she was?

Assurance then came from the woman in red.

“What happened with you was a lot different than how I just described her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s not manipulating you.”

Still, Illidan wondered.

“Was she before? Did she ever try to?”

“I will not lie to you,” Trianna started to confess, “she might have at first.”

This did not bode well with the demon.

“But I can tell you with confidence that she no longer is.”

He was going to have to take her word for it. She was a lot closer to the queen, after all.

Just then, additional sets of footprints were heard coming down the path towards the duo. When the hunter turned to see who it was joining them, he was relieved to see Llian and Roza approaching them. He gave her a smile, but after looking down at her, he noticed she didn’t look as happy. Her face was grave and worried.

“What’s wrong, my queen?” the demon hunter asked.

Hearing him call her “my queen” sent shivers all throughout her body. She adored it. She wanted him to call her that in bed. More than anything, however, she wanted to call him _her king_.

She shook her fantasies aside and looked back up at her lover.

“I’ve received some troubling news from Roza.”

After harvesting the eyes from the late night elf spy, the red priestess followed Elliah at a distance to ensure her safety all the way to the beach. Technically, Roza was late getting to the scene to kill Castor because she had first taken a portal to the beaches to make sure there was a small rowboat nearby. She was almost too late getting back, showing up just in time to save the poor elf’s ass from being completely decimated. Roza tailed the elf, stopping at the treeline to watch the other escape from the island. But Elliah also stopped, a few feet away from the priestess. She knew she was being spied on.

“Before I go,” the night elf began to tell the fairy hiding behind her, “there’s something I need to tell you. Castor and I received a report from Stormwind City. Apparently, the Archmage Khadgar has been arrested and tried for his past dealings with the Betrayer. No one knows why, but he was sentenced to death. The execution is tomorrow in the main square. Castor told me not to tell the queen, because the death of Khadgar would be a huge emotional blow to Illidan. But…”

Her sentence trailed off, but that’s all Roza needed to hear. She darted away from the beach, knowing that the elf would be safe from this moment forth. She dashed all the way back to the palace, stopping before entering the throne room where her queen still stood.

“Thirty-seven minutes,” Llian growled when her priestess finally returned.

“I apologize for the delay, my queen,” replied the other, kneeling to present the small box that contained the elf’s eyes to Llian. “There was an unforeseeable problem I encountered.”

The queen raised a brow. “Unforeseeable?”

“My lady, even the white priestesses wouldn’t have seen it coming.”

“Fair enough.” Llian took the small box from Roza and held it out before her a few inches. Her hands swept outwards and the box snapped out of existence. Then, the two women left the throne room to find Illidan in the garden.

Now, she stood before the massive demon, to tell him about the news that Roza delivered on their way there. She hated that she had to ruin his bubbly mood with this news, but the once-spy was right; Khadgar and Illidan had been fairly close during their time together, and it was only fair that she keep the demon in the loop about his friend.

“Khadgar has been arrested.”

The demon’s face fell immediately to worry.

“What?”

“They tried him for helping you when the Legion returned.”

“We saved Azeroth!”

“They don’t see it that way.”

This information did not bode well with Illidan. The fair woman that stood before her, dressed in a beautiful gown of deep blue with a mass of shimmering silver at the bottom flowing upwards and reaching out to the heavens, was just as upset about it as well.

“They will execute him?”

“They will tomorrow. At least… they plan to.”

Illidan looked over at the queen. “What do you mean, ‘they plan to’?”

Llian smiled softly and linked her arm into the other’s, leaning her face against one of his powerful muscles. “I won’t let them kill him,” she promised.

“How will you save him?”

“The Kingslayer.”


	14. The Kingslayer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Chapter contains blood, gore, death

Illidan had not yet met The Kingslayer, and he wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to. Anything with a name like that earned it in some way or another. The hunter inquired with the queen who this “KIngslayer” was, but all she did was laugh. Apparently, the Kingslayer wasn’t even a person; it was a beast.

This beast didn’t live in the palace, nor was it housed in the stables with the other animals the queen owned. It was kept away from the queen’s home and her pets, but not too far away. The entourage followed the main pathway away from the palace and towards the marketplace. It was a long path lined with trees and plants of great luster and was very peaceful to walk on. It was the evening for the island, so many of the occupants and merchants had already packed up and left for the day, leaving the trail quite empty and calm. Illidan thought that it was odd to keep a beast so close to the people of the island, especially if it was kept away from the queen herself for fear of it killing her or her animals. A strange thing to want to keep near your own people.

But as they got closer to the marketplace, the demon realized that that wasn’t actually where they were headed. He didn’t notice, but the queen had led them off the main path and in some other direction, and if he wasn’t with Llian he would most definitely get lost out here. He made a mental note that he needed to pay more attention.

The queen stopped and stared down at the ground somewhere off of the trail. Illidan couldn’t see what she was looking at from where he was standing, so he moved to get closer and saw something rather peculiar: a hole. Where the ground came up in a little tiny hill existed a massive hole, made by some unknown animal of a clearly immense size. A burrowing animal, no doubt. The demon didn’t recognize the patterns made by the making of this hole, and he was left completely clueless to what might be down there. Then, a small amount of fear began to well up within him.

“Are we… going down there?” he asked with a shaky voice. Llian scoffed in response.

“No. I can assure you that she would not be happy with a big group like us going down there to disturb her.”

 _She? Her?_ _What the hell lives down there?_

As he became lost in his thoughts, Llian started the process of getting her beast out of the ground. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she revealed two navette shaped emeralds that were attached to the flesh of her temples. Focusing on the hole, Llian called to the beast down below, causing the gems to glow faintly. Her thoughts travelled through an unseen network that led into the ground, where the receiver was currently snoring happily. Her dreams were interrupted by a familiar voice in her head.

_It’s time to feed._

The beast’s eyes shot open, eyes of a brilliant shining red, and she stood from her pile of skulls and bones. Climbing out of her cave, she pushed herself through the entrance and stood tall and broad in front of the others. Fear crossed the faces of the one who hadn’t met the Kingslayer yet, and everyone else stood alert. Not to save the queen if something went wrong. No, she wouldn’t need saving. They stood alert so they would be ready to run in the event the beast became angry. After her grand entrance, she brought her attention to the queen.

 _I am here to serve you, my lady,_ Llian heard ringing in her mind.

“Excellent. Let us save your friend,” she told the demon.

++++

The Archmage sat alone in his cell, awaiting his doom in the main square of the Alliance capitol. It had been a week since he was brought to the dungeons, and he counted the minutes up until now, planning on continuing to do so until he drew his final breath. Tomorrow was the day, the day of his execution, for committing the crime of saving the world. So, what if he did it with the enemy? It wasn’t the only time the Alliance had to do something like that to save the lives of its people. However, for some reason, the king thought him to have betrayed the Alliance by partnering up with the big Betrayer himself.

What a crime it was to associate with demons nowadays.

“I guess saving Azeroth just isn’t enough,” Khadgar said aloud to himself. “Nothing is ever enough…”

The sound of a heavy door scraping against the stone floor rang throughout the halls, followed by the heavy footsteps of what was sure to be another guard coming to feed the prisoners. The Archmage had lost a lot of weight since his arrest, refusing to eat the slop they tried to feed him. He also hoped that maybe he would starve to death before his head got chopped off. _Death by beheading_ was not what he wanted written on his epithet.

The footsteps didn’t stop, though, and instead continued to the bars of his own cell. He didn’t recognize the human guard, but she wasn’t alone, flanked by two burly Draenei men in heavy armor.

“Let’s go,” the female guard snapped at Khadgar.

“Now? The execution isn’t until tomorrow!”

“No, it’s today. You’ve lost track of time.”

“It’s only been seven days.”

“It’s been eight.” After updating him on the time, she unlocked the door and entered the cell to shackle him at his wrists and ankles, then dragged him outside and up to the surface. Before they had even opened the door to the dungeons, the sound of a roaring crowd could already be heard on the other side. It was nearly deafening after the wooden slabs were opened.

The streets were absolutely packed with citizens of the capitol, and they cheered when they saw Khadgar in cuffs. A pathway wide enough to accommodate the group was made available so that the prisoner could be walked down it towards the keep. It had been decided that he would instead be executed in front of the keep rather than in the trade square, and the honors would be carried out by the royal executioner. The high king himself would be attending these festivities.

The trek to his death was a long one, and he begrudgingly counted each step he took as he was dragged to the end. He didn’t want to look at any of the faces surrounding him, ogling at him like an animal and throwing food at him or spitting on him, so he kept his eyes on the ground. Soon it would all be over, and he wouldn’t have anything else to worry about. They had just left Old Town and were beginning to make their way to the platform that had been set up at the bottom of the stairs when Khadgar finally looked up, and immediately his eyes met the king’s. Young Anduin Wrynn. The High King of Stormwind and the Alliance. The king that the Archmage had spent so many years serving. The king that ordered Khadgar’s arrest and execution. Now he was just a man that the Archmage no longer trusted.

It was one hundred and seventy-two steps to the spot where the guards made Khadgar kneel. His knees crashed against the wood of the platform and immediately began to ache. The shackles were removed, then replaced with rope which bound his hands behind his back. To the right approached the executioner, and the Archmage could feel the stinging gaze of the young king on his back.

The guard that retrieved him from his cell stood before him and the crowd, raising her hands in the air to silence the boisterous crowd.

“Here we are gathered,” ah yelled out to the masses of people, “to witness the execution of the traitor, the Archmage Khadgar, for his crimes against the Alliance and the High King, Anduin Wrynn. He was fairly tried and found guilty of his treason, and will receive the full punishment: death.”

The horde erupted once more, and for a moment it was all the Khadgar could hear until the sound made his ears ring. There was indeed a trial, but it was nothing close to fair. It wasn’t publicly known, but the judiciary system of the Alliance capitol consisted of nothing but crooks who would rule in any way of the person who paid them the most. In this case, that was Anduin himself, so the reward must have been astronomical. The only thing the mage didn’t know was what possessed the king to want him dead so bad.

The human guard kept talking, but Khadgar didn’t listen anymore. He was done with all of this, ready for the sword to cut down on his neck and kill him. This process was taking far too long. They were purposefully stalling to make him uncomfortable and fearful until his final moment alive came.

“-And now the time has come to put an end to the treachery that plagues this city!”

More roars from the crowd. More ringing in Khadgar’s ears. He didn’t know where he should look, so he focused on his knees until out of the corner of his eye he saw the large figure of the executioner approaching the platform. Now, the mage was terrified. Head hung low but turned to keep a watchful eye, all he could see were boots attached to two massive legs that supported an even larger and more robust torso. The man’s shoulders were wide and his face was hidden by a pretty cliché executioner’s mask, and his enormous hands clasped tightly around the wooden handle of a mammoth axe. Why Khadgar believed a sword would be killing him was beyond the mage himself, but did the medium of chopping really matter?

The guard finally finished what she was saying and turned to face the prisoner. She glowered down at the bound mage, the corner of one of her lips turning upwards.

“Oh, how I wish you knelt under different circumstances,” she hissed at him before nodding to the executioner. The giant trumped up to the platform and took his place to Khadgar’s right. This was it. This was how he died.

The human guard stepped down and walked out of sight. Two great footsteps clunked next to the captive, making the wood beneath rumble like a small earthquake. He didn’t need to see to know when the axe was lifted into the air. There was a mighty roar from the executioner as the blade began to descend, and the mage closed his eyes, readying himself for the final blow.

But it never came. Instead, there was a loud _clank_ that rang out across the courtyard of the royal keep. Then there was a deathly silence. Khadgar opened one eye, and after realizing that he was still alive, opened the other. All he could see was the endless number of faces in front of him, but none were focused on him. Not anymore. Instead, they were all twisted in a great amount of terror, eyes all locked on something he couldn’t see. He heard something behind him, something that he just couldn’t place, but whatever it was, it caused the crowd to emit a collective gasp.

The next thing to enter Khadgar’s field of vision was the dead body of the executioner being slammed against a building some feet to the right, leaving a huge splatter of blood on the concrete wall before toppling to the ground. Anyone near the body immediately began to shriek and run off, and as chaos began to erupt in the court, Khadgar wondered if this was a safe place for him to be.

He then began to ponder if he was going to be stuck in this position forever, then, realizing that no one was stopping him from turning around, he decided to do so, and was met with the entity that struck fear into the hearts of every citizen that was there to watch a man die.

This was not a beast that Khadgar had ever seen before. In fact, it was very unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He didn’t even know how to classify this animal, if that’s what it even was. It looked like a drake, in the way that it had scales and eyes similar to the reptile. However… it still didn’t _look_ like a drake. It stood over 20 feet tall on four legs, which were supported by feet with claws that were at least a foot long. An ivory exoskeleton grew down the spine of the creature, big bony plates that defended it from threats from above. The plates grew over the neck as well, and continued on to the head, which was basically just a skull attached to the fleshy neck. It extended out in two points passed the mouth, a mouth lined with sharp teeth and what was probably a very powerful jaw. It took a few steps forward, allowing Khadgar to get a glimpse of its tail. Ending in a very large and very sharp barb and dripping with blood, the mage assumed that’s what killed the executioner.

If he wasn’t terrified before, he surely was the second this thing stood up on its hind legs, further extending its height. It was a marvel to behold, yet the most awful thing anyone in the vicinity had ever seen. It wasn’t really doing much else, but when soldiers arrived to try and do something about it, they were quickly thrown back with a long swipe of a hand. The beast opened its mouth to let out an earsplitting shriek, followed by a series of low hisses. Then, it turned to face the prisoner.

Khadgar didn’t want to look at this thing, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from it. Especially not when his were locked onto its. The creature slowly approached the platform and closed it face in on the mage, the tips of the skull barely missing the flesh of his cheeks. The breath that came out was hot and arid, not a pleasant feeling. Or smell. The entire court was silent as everyone waited to see what would happen next.

Another shrill call, then the tail rose into the sky once more. It came down in a swift _hush_ , cutting the rope that bound Khadgar’s hands behind his back. The beast was here to… rescue him? As he wondered who sent this thing to save him, it snorted in his face before piercing the back of his dungeon robes with its skull, lifting him up into the air. A loud yelp escaped from his throat, and before he could protest, he was being carried away from the city at an alarming speed. It darted through the city streets and up a wall, climbing onto the rooftops and continuing its run to the gates. Arrows began to fly by, but none of them reached the beast in time. It was disturbingly quick for its size.

It didn’t take long for the beast to clear the city, and after a large leap off of the outer wall, it made haste towards the woods ahead. Branches and twigs whipped the mage in the face as he was carried away, and at one point he found himself being flung into the air, only to be caught by the beast. He rode its back for the rest of the trip, which turned out to be a lot quicker than he’d thought. Not that he knew where he was even going.

The beast barked this time, and out of its mouth, a portal was born. The faint appearance of an unknown island could be seen in the shimmer of the portal, and right before he passed through it, he saw someone in the vision that shocked him.

It looked like Illidan.

That couldn’t be. Last he heard, the demon was dead, bested by Sargeras.

Now that he was no longer in Stormwind City – or even on the continent anymore – the Archmage was given an opportunity to investigate his surroundings, as the creature slowed its pace to more of a trot (which was really a gallop for a normal horse). What he observed was not what he saw in the portal’s image. The portal showed him what looked like an island, but now he appeared to be deep in a jungle heading up the stone steps of a marvelous palace.

The doors were abruptly flung open to allow the creature to pass through into the foyer, where it finally stopped and turned sideways to make its passenger slide off its back. Without another glance, it left the building and disappeared into the thick jungle. Khadgar was left alone with a bunch of guards, all belonging to a race of people he’d never even seen before. Their skin was an array of different colors, and they all wore silver armor and sported long polearms, massive swords, and aa family crest of unknown origin. It was a flower, but it was completely unfamiliar.

He kept rotating around, trying to get a sense of where he was, but he still had no idea after several minutes of wondering. There was always the option of asking, but the only others that were around were the guards, and they scared him too much.

He didn’t have to wait long, however, and soon a voice run throughout the hall. It bounced off the vaulted ceiling, making it hard to locate its origin. It was soft and welcoming, the sweet voice of a bodiless woman who had yet to make herself known.

 _Welcome to the Palace of Song, Archmage,_ sang the voice. He was starting to believe the voice was just in his head, until he heard it from directly behind him, this time with no echo. “How was your trip?”

The older man spun around and was faced with the most wonderful image he’d ever laid eyes upon. She stood some feet away from him, standing in a dark archway that led to who knows where. Her fiery hair was pulled to one side and hung over her shoulder in beautiful waves, almost down to her naval. The features of her face were fine and delicate, like porcelain, and contained no flaws. The gown upon her body was a deep blue with silver accents at the edges and floral designs sewn into the chest. And atop her head was a silver diadem adorned with sapphires and diamonds. This woman was clearly the queen of this palace.

Khadgar gave her a low bow after coming back to his senses and was unable to find the words to greet her with. His muttering earned him a soft giggle from the woman.

“There’s no need to worry about formalities,” she assured him. The mage stood up and refused to meet her gaze she spoke.

“I can’t be casual with you… your majesty-.”

“Ew,” she interrupted. “Don’t call me that. If you must, just say ‘my lady’.”

“Y-yes,” the mage stammered back. “My lady. There must be formalities with royalty, especially if they saved your life.”

“I understand your sentiment, Archmage, but I have someone else here living in the palace with me, and after you meet him, I’m sure we’ll all be at a first name basis.”

 _Him?_ Could it be? That what Khadgar had seen in the portal was a true vision?

“I am very eager to meet this friend of yours,” he blurted out before quickly adding. “my lady.”

The queen chuckled again and smiled. “Good to hear.”

Before he could prepare himself, Khadgar was met with the form of a being he thought he would never see again. It was the Betrayer himself, Illidan Stormrage, standing before him, most certainly alive. The mage was at a loss for words, and a low laugh pierced his ears. It was a laugh he hadn’t heard in years, coming from a man he presumed to be dead.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” came the demon’s comment. Looking down, Khadgar realized that he was still in his prisoner’s clothes. Blood rushed to his cheeks and he attempted to look even farther away from the couple in front of him.

“Illidan, my dear, you know him better. Can you get him settled? New clothes and such. Poor thing is in desperate need of hospitality.” The demon stepped forward and up to Khadgar, placing a hand on his shoulder to guide him out.

“And a bath, my love. He desperately needs a bath, as well.”


	15. Returning the Favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter LATE. I had it started, then I guess closed my PC to update without saving the chapter first, so I lost it. Enjoy.

“I have something to show you.”

The demon’s gaze did not falter from the plate in front of him. Another day with light had come and gone, a day that passed by in quiet. The fae of the island preferred to stay indoors for the most part, finding solace in the night lights of the plants and animals that could not be present with the sun shining. They all really did love the night. The young redhead, on the other hand, was still the queen of the island and had business to attend to, business that was involving the hunter more frequently as of late. When he didn’t stop eating, she reached out to put a hand on his arm, stopping him from taking his next bite.

“Remember the gift I promised you?” she asked him with an innocent smile.

The gift had completely escaped his mind. Had she finally come across a pair of eyes? How did she get them? Who did she get them from? Illidan had a thousand questions going through his head and he doubted he really wanted to know the answer. In all honesty, he was pretty sure he already knew.

When still no words came from the demon, but he had ceased stuffing his face, the small fairy snapped her fingers, prompting a priestess in red to enter the small dining room. In her hands was a small green box with ornate golden flowers painted across the surface. There was a small lock on the front that held the fasten closed, keeping the lid locked shut from the outside world. Llian was the only one who had the key, which she pushed into the lock and turned. It made a few mysterious _clicks_ before popping open, allowing the queen access to the contents. She removed a small cloth, and her delicate fingers unwrapped two glowing yellow orbs in her hands.

Illidan knew that she had promised him an actual pair of eyes, but looking down at them in person ws a bit strange. They were someone’s eyes – _real eyes_ – and the queen was holding them as if it was no big deal. Upon further investigation, the optic nerves could be seen in the back, still attached at one end but not the other.

“Where… who’s eyes were these?”

Again, Illidan already knew, but he wanted to hear Llian say it.

“That’s not important.”

“It was one of the spies, wasn’t it?”

The fairy was silent, but she gazed back at the other with a look that confessed all. He thought back to the two spies he had walked in on her berating in the throne room. Something he’d learned quickly about the queen was that she showed a particular affinity for females, leading him to believe that these were not Elliah’s eyes. That only meant these eyes once belonged to Castor. Now, Illidan began to question what happened to the male night elf.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Llian started, interrupting Illidan’s question before he asked it. “There was very good reason for taking his eyes. You need not worry about what has become of that elf. What matters now is that he has been more than kind enough to give up his sight for you.”

“He’s dead, isn’t he?”

The question rushed out before he could stop it, but Llian answered him anyways.

“Castor is dead, yes.”

The hunter didn’t know what to do with that information. Castor may have betrayed the queen, as well as get his comrade in just as much trouble, but was that really any reason to end his life and steal a part of his body? Or maybe the queen had an actual good reason for killing the young man. Maybe, just maybe, she knew something about him that Illidan didn’t.

Green eyes scanned detached ones again, and Illidan finally sighed in defeat.

“I thank you. Immensely. You didn’t have to do this -.”

“And yet, I did,” she interrupted once more. Returning the eyes to their box, Llian relinquished the gift to the priestess, who made her leave at once. Now, Llian stopped to watch the other continue to eat, but he was withdrawing from doing so.

“What’s the matter, my demon?”

“I must repay you for this gift.”

Llian made a face. It wasn’t a negative expression in the least. As a mater of fact, she was more than happy to hear that he wanted to return the favor. It paved the way for a request of her own.

“I want you to be my king.”

This caught Illidan off guard. To be her king was all he wanted anymore, and now she was practically proposing to him. It was an odd proposal, but of course he didn’t care. Finally, he was going to get what he desired most.

“Yes,” he blurted out eagerly. It produced a chuckle from the fairy.

“Well alright then. I guess that settles that.”

She placed a hand delicately on his arm, causing the flesh around it to become covered in bumps. Anxiety rushed through his veins, and his heart began to pound in response. What was this he as feeling? It was like the first time she touched him all over again. He couldn’t explain the excitement at all.

“So…” began the demon again, “will there be a wedding? How does this work?” There was a pause before he continued on, embarrassment on his face. “You know, I’ve never been… married before.”

Llian snickered lightly. “Yes, we will have a wedding. Don’t trouble yourself with these things, though. None of that is anything you need to be bothered with.”

“Will it be like any other wedding?”

“Not at all. The fae are a little different when it comes to holy matrimony. Simply put, we aren’t the holiest of individuals, so we have to make unions a little differently.”

Impatience started to replace the anxiety. Now with the promise of a union in his future, he didn’t want to wait. The infatuation he experienced for this woman overtook his senses and straight thinking. All common sense was now removed from the equation, and it was his heart that guided him forward. Well, his heart and maybe also his cock.

 _Speaking of_ he thought to himself, resituating himself to sit more comfortably. It was to no avail, and Llian noticed his squirming.

“The sun has finally finished setting,” Llian noted, looking out a nearby window as the pinks and blues had faded to a dark black. “If you’re not feeling hungry anymore, then maybe it’s time we found some entertainment?”

His attention moved back to the smaller being next to him. It was true that he didn’t have much of an appetite anymore. What kind of entertainment was she thinking to find?

“Or we can make our own.”

The demon stood from his chair, causing Llian to jump slightly with surprise. She felt a firm grasp on her arm, and it lifted her from her chair to her feet. Her lilac gaze examined the other’s chest, which was right in front of her presently, and she started salivating at the sight. The abrupt manhandling of the queen would normally send her spiraling into a blind rage, but this was Illidan touching her. This was the only person on Azeroth who was permitted to do such a thing, and upon looking at his expression, she immediately could tell that he would much rather make his own entertainment.

“Any place in particular?” she asked, this time giving him the option to choose where they fucked.

“In all honesty, your chambers would be highly preferred.”

Llian smirked. “Not tonight.”

Damn. This would probably be another moment they shared where she did all the fucking. He really did enjoy it, watching her do all the work, but he still ached and longed to mount her. One day, he assured himself.

One day…


	16. The Unholy Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bet y'all never thought Illidan would get MARRIED.

No one knew where to start when it came to preparing Illidan for his nuptials. Refusing to even call it what it was, he wouldn’t be bothered with any of the arrangements for the ceremony, which had been officially coined “The Unholy Wedding”. The queen had spent a significant amount of time alone with her groom-to-be after her proposal. The entirety of the palace was a flurry with gossip and task completion, rumors spreading about the last night the couple had together as an unwed pair while the chatterers decorated the castle with fresh flora from the jungle. Illidan would catch a little bit of the scandalous lies as he patrolled around the palace halls, not liking anything he heard. Each tale was as unbelievable as the last. “I heard she took him in the ass.” “I heard she made him lick wine from her ‘entrances’.” “Apparently she introduced bloodplay.” “Bloodplay?” “Yea, sex with blood.” “Who’s blood?” “Probably his.” “Did she stab him?” “Probably worse. You know how the queen is. I bet she stabbed him AND cut open his flesh.” “I bet he bleeds green.”

The response the demon got from Llian after telling her about the gossip was not what he expected. Expecting her to lose her mind and demand an end to the fibs, she instead shrugged it all off as if it didn’t matter at all.

“They’re slandering your name.”

“Why do you think they’re employed at the lowest level in the palace?”

The young fairy had a point. Having once been king already, he knew that it was the staff – maids and butlers and such – that gossiped the most out of any person in a castle, and Llian knew that as well. It kind of gave him an idea of how long she’d been ruling the island. If she knew to ignore the prattle of her servants, that meant she’d been doing this for a long time.

Which brought him to another thought: she didn’t seem all that worried or stressed about the upcoming ceremony. It was supposedly taking place at the end of the week, and never had the demon witnessed a wedding come together that fast. When he questioned her about it, she laughed.

“I am very stressed, Illidan.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

She gave him a warm smile, which quickly turned to a coy smirk. “I hear that certain ‘activities’ male for great stress relief.”

The demon cocked his head and raised a brow. “Activities? Like what?”

Just then, the larger being felt the delicate hand of the queen grasping at his own, her fingers lacing together with his clawed ones. There was a slight tug as she began to walk away, an attempt to lead him onward. “Follow me and I’ll show you.”

They walked the halls together, smallest leading largest, with the latter being wildly unsure of where they were going. Was it another secret part of the castle that he hadn’t yet been to? The mystery made him anxious and he was eager to get to the location, so he no longer had to guess. These halls were new to him, as well. A wing that he had not yet visited before. Another place for him to get lost if he didn’t pay attention to his guide.

The small fairy led him to two large metal doors, which suffered greatly from the rest of the palace’s wooden ones. They were etched with symbols and other writings in a language the demon couldn’t read, furthering his confusion on where she was taking him. He didn’t bother to ask, but simply waited for Llian to open the massive gray doors and let them inside. After doing so, Illidan had to stop and stare, completely awestruck by this massive room he was now standing in.

It looked just like the throne room architecturally. There was a raised platform at the other end of the hall with a long dark blue carpet leading up to it. The carpet additionally was embossed with silver stars and moons as well as golden suns and planets. Lining the carpet were pillars made of the same dark marble that the rest of the room consisted of. But what set this room apart from where the queen’s throne lived was not the dark marble or the nice carpet. It was the system of foreign celestial bodies that floated above their heads. An array of different stars, planets, moons, and asteroids danced around above, all suspended by an unseen force and made of the best-looking metals on Azeroth. Their color schemes mirrored that of the ones on the carpet, and after watching them for some time, Illidan noticed one of the planets was Azeroth.

She let him stare for as long as he needed. It was a lot to take in. Everyone who came into this room was at a loss for words and couldn’t stop themselves from gawking. Not many people had this privilege, either. This room meant a lot to the queen, and she usually kept it hidden away from prying eyes. Only the closest to her have seen this room, and although the queen never said this, the demon already knew how lucky he was to be here.

“The people of this land have a great affinity for the night sky,” came the queen’s voice, soft and lovely from behind the demon. When she spoke again, she was much closer and to his left. He could feel her presence while he ogled the system above, feel the warmth of her flesh touching his arm as she leaned up against him. “It’s to be expected of a people who see it a lot.”

“The night sky?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose…”

The demon was not paying any attention to her. He was far too distracted by the ceiling. Llian tugged on his arm a bit until his focus was on her again.

“What you see above you is what our system looks like.” As the globe of Azeroth passed by again, she pointed it out while she went on. “This is us, obviously, and the rest of the planets are the ones that share our system with us.” The delicate finger moved on from Azeroth and pointed to another planet on the other side of a massive orange ball, which Illidan realized for the first time was what all of these things were orbiting. “That is Draenor.”

It was a dark looking orb, not as friendly looking as the other planets, which was a perfect description of the actual planet according to Illidan. “I’ve never been there, but my priestesses have a few times or more. They said it has some places that are very nice, but nothing really to get excited over.”

A chuckle escaped the hunter. “I second that.”

Llian giggled. “Yes, I have no desire to ever visit.”

“How do you know about all this?”

“We spend a lot of time in the night. So, we have much more time to study the stars than most other people.”

This made a lot of sense. The fae really had something going for them here. There was a lot of information to be gathered here, so many opportunities to learn about the world and the universe around them, and it was all information that could be considered very valuable. And Illidan was beginning to understand why the queen protected her island so carefully.

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this room,” the demon finally said, taking another long look at the ceiling.

“It’s very sacred. A lot of knowledge is contained in this room, and believe it or not, there’s a lot of power.”

This confused Illidan. He could only sense the power radiating from the fairy pressed up against him. “I don’t believe it.”

“Some people on this planet can gaze into the model above and see what it’s trying to say. They can understand the puzzles and riddles that play out before them and would therefore be granted the knowledge contained within. It’s an exact copy of our system, and I can clearly see its gift.”

The demon frowned and looked down at Llian, but her focus was elsewhere. In fact, it was up, lost in the lights and movements of the bodies above. The look on her face, however, was astounding. Her amethyst eyes were wide and the reflections of the metals she so loved glistened in them. The soft, pink lips of her mouth were slightly curved into a small smile and were animated in a way that perfectly matched how much in love she was with this topic. This little fairy was absolutely enraptured by the cosmos. It was something that Illidan loved the moment he witnessed it. Something more he loved about her…

“We’ll be married in this room.”

This caught Illidan’s attention in the blink of an eye. His gaze snapped back to the other, all of his anxieties returning to him in one large flush. The topic of marriage was back on the table, and the demon hunter had no desire to talk about it.

Thankfully, Llian sensed this. “I didn’t bring you here to bother you about the ceremony. You need not worry about that at all. Everything will be taken care of.”

“But the servants…”

“What about them? Are you afraid they’ll chatter about you not doing anything? Just growl at them. They’ll stop.”

“No, I mean this is a lot of work to be putting on them in such a short amount of time.”

Illidan wasn’t really worried about the servants. He wasn’t even sure why he was asking about them anyways. They didn’t matter to him and they certainly didn’t matter much to the queen. She treated them right, yes, but she really didn’t bother to think of them as anything other than the fae employed in her home. So, why was he asking about them?

The mystery would never be solved because the queen had already moved on with her conversation. “They’ll be fine. I brought you here to discuss what’s going to happen in here.

This didn’t sound like it was going to be very fun. What could be going on in this wedding that she needed to have an entirely separate and private conversation with him about it?

“We’re going to be married in here,” was the only thing Illidan could say back. It got him a stern look.

“Yes, I know that, thank you. You’ll also be getting your eyes in here.”

Silence from Illidan.

“The figures above you are not just nice replicas of the celestial bodies we share a system with. They channel all sorts of magic and power from those specific bodies. We will need this power to make sure your eyes not only become a part of you, but also function like they’re supposed to.”

“Do you know someone who can work that magic?” The demon wondered if Khadgar had a part to play in this wedding, secretly hoping that he didn’t.

“Yes, that’s what my white priestesses have been training to do. Well, that and how to summon the crowns.”

“Yea, the crowns…”

“We will also be crowned here.”

“Will that be on the same day as the wedding?”

“No, sadly. The historians, mages, and priestess are very close to having everything they need ready, but they aren’t quite there yet. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for that.”

She looked up at the demon and linked her arm with his. “We should get back,” she stated, tugging him again to lead him out of the room. “I’m getting a bit tired anyways.”

“Are you taking a bath tonight?”

The question from Illidan made Llian perk up a bit. “Why, are you?”

“I wanted to…”

“Then yes. I’m taking a bath tonight.”

“Are you using the diamond baths?”

The queen smiled and quickened her pace. “Yes, and I expect you to be there as well.”

++++

Panic. That was all the Betrayer could feel as he stood in front of his room’s mirror, staring into the deep green abysses that would be filled within the hour. Or maybe within two hours. He still hadn’t figured out what was happening first. Was he getting married before he got eyes? Or was it going to be the other way around? These were only two of the millions of questions and fears that occupied his thoughts. This was usually the best day of a person’s life. Finally making official how much you love another person, vowing to spend the rest of your days alive with them. That’s not how this felt. That’s not how Illidan felt. As he stared into the glass, he began to wonder if he actually did love Llian, and whether or not she really loved him.

“Is that what you’re wearing?”

The voice startled him, and before turning to see who it was, he saw a figure in white standing in the doorway in the reflection of the mirror. The white priestess stepped forward, her face mostly masked by the hood of her robes. Illidan was still in his usual cloth pants and Illidari belt, but he still made a concerted effort to look a little nicer.

“Llian likes it.”

He felt the woman roll her eyes at him. “It is time.”

Never had anyone ever felt as terrified as Illidan did in that moment, at least not in his head. He was the only person to have ever felt this much dread and apprehension, he thought. The only thing he could think about now was how this all was going to look. It could look extremely amazing and turn out to actually be the best day of his life. Or it could become a huge embarrassment. The more he prayed and meddled over the former, the more he began to fear the latter was going to happen.

“You need to calm down,” said the priestess, her voice dull and uncaring. “You will make my job inordinately difficult.”

How did she know how anxious he was? Was her ability to sense others really that acute?

“I am calm,” he lied.

“Don’t fool yourself, demon. You are simply _radiating_ dread.”

“I don’t dread this.”

“I didn’t say dread for _this_.” The woman sighed. “And I really don’t care.”

Something seemed off about the priestess. She was being awfully snarky and hostile towards him. This was the first time he had been alone with any of the priestesses; it was possible he was experiencing her true self now that her queen wasn’t around.

“You don’t like me, do you?”

“I don’t like _outsiders_.”

That settled that quickly for Illidan, and it eased his mind knowing it wasn’t him personally she despised. Rather, she hated that he wasn’t from here.

Or did she hate that an outsider was about to be her king?

Before he could interject, they had arrived at the room Llian had shown him the night before, and the doors were already wide open. Nothing on the inside had really changed, except that all the candles and lights were off. The hall was shrouded in darkness, but strangely enough, there were images of stars, comets, and asteroids all across the walls, images that were made of a sparkling white light. Where the source was, the demon did not know.

Inside the hall was the queen’s entire court. All of her historians, what leftover spies she had, generals, advisors, mages, higher military officials, and more stood inside the room, all a bustle with talk of the ceremony. Looking amongst the crowd, the demon spotted Khadgar, and his heart skipped several beats. He wasn’t aware that the mage was allowed to attend this. Sighing, he looked away and scanned the room again. The demon couldn’t catch anything that was being said, but it soon didn’t matter because the whole room went deadly quiet when he walked in. All eyes were on him as he was led to the platform, which had a small altar on it presently. Atop the altar were a small dagger, an even smaller box, and two goblets filled with what he assumed was wine. The priestess left him there and took her place on the other side of the shrine, not removing her hood to look at the demon when she barked an instruction out at him.

“Stand before the altar.”

Illidan did as he was told and stood facing the priestess. She was soon joined by her partner, who first walked the queen down the aisle towards them. Not caring if he was allowed to look or not, he turned and was greeted with a most beautiful sight.

Llian chose not to wear a gown of white, but rather of a material that looked exactly like it was made of diamonds. It shimmered so well in the source-less glow of the stars. Attached to her otherwise bare shoulders was a cloak of a sheer fabric, flowing down to the floor from a chromed silver shoulder-collar piece decorated with flowers and vines. The cloak itself was decorated with a mass of silver stars. Her hair fell in perfect little ringlets and was similarly adorned with tiny little silver specks, along with a crown of constellations around her head. She was a beauty of nature and something that Illidan never wanted to look away from.

Llian took her place next to the demon, who continued to stare down at her until the priestess who led him here snapped at him to pay attention.

“You’re up first,” she said with a sneer. Just then, she reached for the small box and then stepped up onto the altar, so that she was eye-to-eye with him. Then she drew a symbol on the lid with her finger, which lit up after completion to unlock it, and it was opened to unveil its contents. And for the first time, Illidan gazed down at the severed pair of eyes the queen stole from her belligerent night elf. The eyes she stole for him. Her demon. Her king.

The eyes were removed and placed together in one of the woman’s hands. After doing so, she used her free hand to rip the strip of cloth that covered the burning of his demon’s eyes. Then, without warning, Illidan felt her hand on the back of his head, forcing him to lean forward. He couldn’t see anything now, and he felt as though he had been submerged deep underwater. The demon suddenly couldn’t breathe, and he began to struggle at the hands of a woman who hated him.

It all ended as quickly as it began. There was an intense heat in the demon’s sockets, and then his head was back up and he could breathe again. He took a gaping breath, then, realizing he had his eyes closed, slowly opened his lids and saw the world once more, but now with his own elven eyes.

It all looked the same, but the feeling was different. It all felt so _new._ Like he was seeing it all for the first time again. The first thing he saw was the window across from the altar, with a full and bright moon shining onto his face through it. The priestess had already stepped down and was waiting for the demon to finish gawking at everything.

The next thing he saw was Llian. He couldn’t bear to look at anything else right now other than her, his soon-to-be wife, and he was glad that he did. She was even more extravagant and dazzling than before. It almost brought tears to his eyes seeing her like this, but she caught him beforehand and directed him back to altar.

Now for the hard part.

“You are here today to stand with your queen and be bound to her in the throes of matrimony. Today, you will be united in this unholiest of unions. Are you prepared to move forward, to accept the title of King and all responsibilities that come with it?”

This was directed at Illidan, and he could only respond with the common, “I do.”

Each priestess then took the left hand of the individual before them and, starting with the queen, used the dagger to mage a large cut across her palm. The priestess tipped her hand over one of the goblets and handed the dagger to her counterpart, who repeated the process with Illidan. Both hands dripped the blood of the couple into their prospective cups, infusing the wine with the life sources of either being. Llian took her cup and, without any direction from the women in white, raised her goblet from the table and motioned for Illidan to do the same. But rather than drink her own wine, she lifted it to the lips of the demon, who immediately followed suit. The two fed each other their bloody wine, all until the last drops, and set the empty cups back on the altar. After letting the priestesses wrapped their wounded hands with gauze, the hateful one continued.

“The two of you are now bound by blood, free to rule as you please, as long as you do it together. You will respect, protect, and cherish your queen, and she will do the same for you. As you have drank the blood of you queen, you have been named her king, and from this moment forth, also been named her husband. Now face her.”

The couple turned to each other, gazing deep into the eyes of their spouse as if looking away would undo everything that had just happened.

“You have been wed in the presence of this court, this system, and this universe,” finished the priestess, nodding to the queen as if to tell Illidan to go ahead and kiss her already.

Which he was more than happy to do.

Without hesitation, he pulled Llian into his arms and pressed his lips to hers, losing himself in this passionate moment. Llian didn’t hold back either, holding on tightly to his face and arm. The audience erupted in cheers and applause, then began to funnel out to begin the festivities of the royal wedding.

The couple was led out into the market square, but instead of being lined with stalls like usual, it was filled with what seemed like the rest of the island’s inhabitants. There were fae everywhere doing all sorts of different things: playing music, handing out food, eating, drinking, dancing. Some were even lost in their own moments of passion, clearly drunk and no longer caring about the wedding or the bride and groom. The rest of the fae cheered when Llian and her king emerged from the palace, and the night went on much like when the queen plundered the Alliance ships.

Llian was also just as wasted as she was that night, but alternate to sitting back and watching her dance naked around a fire, he was dancing with her. Still clothed, but he didn’t care and neither did she.

They were just happy to be together.


End file.
